Effects of Supercritical CO2 Treatment on Color, Lipid Oxidation, Heme Iron, Non-Heme Iron and Metmyoglobin Contents in Ground Pork.

The color, lipid oxidation, heme iron (HI) and non-heme iron (NHI) contents, metmyoglobin content and Soret band of myoglobin of ground pork subjected to supercritical CO2 treatment under different conditions, or to heat treatment (40°C, 2 h) and subsequent storage at 4°C were evaluated during 9-day period. Supercritical CO2 treatment significantly increased CIE L* and CIE b* values of ground pork during subsequent storage, while the HI content was slightly affected. In general, CIE a* value and metmyoglobin content were decreased. Supercritical CO2 treatment for 2 h could increase the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) value, while treatment for 1 h or less had no effect. The NHI content could be increased only after treatment at above 40°C or 17.2 MPa for 2 h. The Soret band of myoglobin was shifted to longer wavelength. Increasing treatment temperature from 35°C to 45°C could increase CIE L*, CIE a*, CIE b* and TBARS values, HI and NHI contents of the ground pork, while decreasing metmyoglobin content. As the treatment pressure increased from 13.8 MPa to 20.7 MPa, CIE b* and TBARS values were decreased, while the NHI and metmyoglobin contents were increased. However, the other parameters were unchanged. Extending exposure time from 0.5 h to 2 h could increase CIE L*, CIE b* and TBARS values, HI contents, while decreasing CIE a* value and metmyoglobin content. Correlation analysis showed that the TBARS value was significantly and negatively correlated with the HI content or metmyoglobin content in samples treated at 40°C or above for 2 h.

Toward Smart Sensing by MXene.

The Internet of Things era has promoted enormous research on sensors, communications, data fusion, and actuators. Among them, sensors are a prerequisite for acquiring the environmental information for delivering to an artificial data center to make decisions. The MXene-based sensors have aroused tremendous interest because of their extraordinary performances. In this review, the electrical, electronic, and optical properties of MXenes are first introduced. Next, the MXene-based sensors are discussed according to the sensing mechanisms such as electronic, electrochemical, and optical methods. Initially, biosensors are introduced based on chemiresistors and field-effect transistors. Besides, the wearable pressure sensor is demonstrated with piezoresistive devices. Third, the electrochemical methods include amperometry and electrochemiluminescence as examples. In addition, the optical approaches refer to surface plasmonic resonance and fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Moreover, the prospects are delivered of multimodal data fusion toward complicated human-like senses. Eventually, future opportunities for MXene research are conveyed in the new material discovery, structure design, and proof-of-concept devices.

Trypsin may induce cytokine storm in M1 macrophages, resulting in critical coronavirus disease.

Trypsin is a protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR2) activator that upregulates the interleukin (IL)-17 receptor signal in the airway epithelial cells and amplifies the inflammatory response, but does not modify the growth kinetics of the metapneumovirus. How does the coronavirus spread from cell to cell is yet an enigma. The present study analyzed the possible role of trypsin in the activation of coronavirus in vitro and in vivo. We found that the overexpression of trypsin in A549 cells upregulated IL-17 and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). In the humanized transgenic mice, trypsin activated M1 macrophages. Together, our results suggested that the upregulation of trypsin may support a new pathway for coronavirus transmission in patients.

Isolation, Identification and Antibacterial Mechanism of the Main Antibacterial Component from Pickled and Dried Mustard (Brassica juncea Coss. var. foliosa Bailey).

Our previous study showed that the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) from an ethanolic extract of pickled and dried mustard (Brassica juncea Coss. var. foliosa Bailey) had significant antibacterial activity. Here, the EAF was further separated into seven sub-fractions by silica gel column chromatography. The antibacterial activities of the EAF and its sub-fractions against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas fluorescens were assessed using the agar diffusion method and double dilution method. Among the seven sub-fractions, the third sub-fraction (Fr 3) possessed the strongest antibacterial activity. The main component in Fr 3 was identified by GC-MS, UV-vis, FT-IR, HPLC, 1H NMR and 13C NMR techniques, and was found to be succinic acid. The content of succinic acid in Fr 3 was determined as 88.68% (w/w) by HPLC. Finally, the antibacterial mechanism of succinic acid against the tested strains was explored by determining the intracellular component leakage, measuring the cell particle size and observing the cell morphology. The results showed that succinic acid could damage the cell membrane structure and intracellular structure to increase the leakage of cell components and reduce the cell particle size. Our results suggest that succinic acid could be used in food industry to control bacterial contamination by S. aureus and P. fluorescens.

Resveratrol ameliorates myocardial fibrosis by regulating Sirt1/Smad3 deacetylation pathway in rat model with dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Resveratrol (RSV) in rats with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). METHODS: Porcine cardiac myosin was used to set up rat model with DCM. RSV (10 mg/kg in RSV-L group and 50 mg/kg in RSV-H group) or vehicle was administered to rats with DCM once daily from the 28th day till the 90th day after the first immunization. Cardiac function of rats was evaluated by echocardiographic analysis. The deposition of fibrous tissues in the hearts was evaluated by Masson and picrosirius red staining. The mRNA levels of collagen type I (Col I), collagen type III (Col III) and silence information regulator 1 (Sirt1) were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The interaction of Sirt1 with Smad3 was revealed by coimmunoprecipitation. RESULTS: The heart weight, heart weight/body weight ratio, left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) and left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVESD) were significantly increased in rats with DCM, and attenuated by RSV. RSV also positively decreased fibrosis, and the expression of Col I and Col III in the myocardium. The Sirt1 mRNA was significantly decreased in myosin-immunized hearts and was positively increased by RSV. The Sirt1 combined with Smad3 directly. Acetylation of Smad3 (Ac-Smad3) was significantly increased in DCM and was markedly decreased by RSV. CONCLUSION: RSV effectively ameliorated myocardial fibrosis and improved cardiac function by regulating Sirt1/Smad3 deacetylation pathway in rat model with DCM.

High Level of Inflammatory Cytokines in the Tears: A Bridge of Patients with Concomitant Exotropia and Dry Eye.

Concomitant exotropia have obvious symptoms of eye discomfort in adults, and the presence of ocular surface inflammation in patients may be important mediators between concomitant exotropia and dry eye. Oculus Keratograph eye comprehensive analyzer was performed to detect noninvasive tear break time, noninvasive tear height, and eye red index, while the ocular surface disease index and schirmer I testing were made. The levels of IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-12P70, INF-γ, and TNF-α were detected in tears in patients with concomitant exotropia and healthy controls matched by age and gender through the Simoa technology. IL-6 was significantly higher in patients with concomitant exotropia (4.683 ± 1.329) pg/mL than that in normal group (1.455 ± 0.391) pg/mL, p = 0.0304. TNF-α was also significantly higher in patients (0.2095 ± 0.0703) pg/mL than normal group (0.0513 ± 0.0149) pg/mL, p = 0.0397. The levels of inflammatory factors in strabismic patients vs. normal controls were as follows: IL-17A (0.1551 pg/mL︰0.0793 pg/mL), IL-10 (0.3358 pg/mL︰0.0513 pg/mL), IL-12p70 (0.0253 pg/mL︰0.0099 pg/mL), and INF-γ (0.0284 pg/mL︰0.009 pg/mL) were detected, and the median of them in concomitant strabismus was 1.96-6.55-fold as much as the control group. High levels of inflammatory cytokines in tears of patients with concomitant exotropia, which may be a potentially factor promoted the occurrence of dry eye in the patients with concomitant exotropia.

The effect of patient positioning on the accuracy and reliability of assessment of knee range of motion over a telemedicine platform.

INTRODUCTION: Diagnostic accuracy is one of the key considerations of telemedicine usage in orthopedic surgery. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal patient positioning to achieve accurate and reliable visual estimation of the knee joint range of motion over a digital platform for telemedicine. METHODS: A single volunteer was recruited to perform a total of 120 discrete and random knee range of motion angles in three patient positions: sitting, standing and supine. The patient image was broadcast over a digital platform to six raters. The raters recorded their visual estimation of each discrete knee flexion angle independently. After each discrete knee flexion angle, a physical goniometer was used to obtain the actual flexion angle of the knee. RESULTS: A total of 120 discrete measurements (40 measurements in the sitting, standing, and supine positions each) were recorded by each of the six raters. The supine position resulted in the highest intraclass correlation of 0.97 (95% confidence interval: 0.98, 0.99). All three patient positions achieved low absolute difference between the goniometer and the raters with 5.6 degrees (95% limits of agreement: -21.0, 9.8) in sitting, 2.7 degrees (95% limits of agreement: -10.1, 15.4), and 1.2 degrees (95% limits of agreement: -9.8, 12.3) in the supine position. The supine position had the highest accuracy and reliability. DISCUSSION: Visual estimation of the knee joint range of motion over telemedicine is clinically accurate and reliable. Patients should be assessed in a supine position to obtain the highest accuracy and reliability for visual estimation of the knee joint range of motion during telemedicine.

DNA Methylation Pattern of CALCA and CALCB in Extremely Premature Infants with Monochorionic Triplets after Single-Embryo Transfer.

Compared with full-term peers, premature infants are more likely to suffer from neonatal diseases and death. Variations in DNA methylation may affect these pathological processes. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) plays a complex and diversified role in reproduction and chronic inflammation, and participates in the functional maintenance of vascular adaptation and trophoblast cells during pregnancy. Here, premature live births with single-chorionic triple embryos after single-embryo transfer were used as research objects, while full-term infants with double embryos and double-chorionic twins were used as controls. DNA was extracted from umbilical cord tissues for pyrosequencing to detect the methylation level of CpG island in CGRP promoter region. The average values of CGRP methylation in the umbilical cord tissues of very premature fetuses were higher than that of normal controls obtained from the databases. Immunofluorescence results showed that the expression of αCGRP was decreased in the blood vessel wall of the umbilical cord of monozygotic triplets, especially in death cases, while the ßCGRP had a compensatory expression. In conclusion, our findings suggest that hypermethylation of CGRP might be considered as an important cause of serious neonatal morbidities.

Age and Gender: Affecting the Positive Rates of Serum PAB and ANCA in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of immune-mediated conditions. Immune activity is varied by age and gender. The present study is aimed at investigating the effect of age and gender on the positive rates of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA), anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), anti-intestinal goblet cell antibodies (GAB), and antibodies to exocrine pancreas (PAB) in IBD patients. A total of 1871 hospitalized patients with confirmed IBD were included in this study. Sera were obtained from each subject for antibody measurement by indirect immunofluorescence assay. The positive rates of ANCA IgG and IgA were higher in female patients than those in male patients (P < 0.001) while the positive rate of PAB IgG was just reversed (P < 0.001). Moreover, the median ages of patients with positive ANCA IgG and IgA were higher than patients with negative antibodies (P = 0.0019 and P = 0.0110, respectively), while the median ages of patients with positive PAB IgG and IgA were significantly lower than patients with negative PAB (P < 0.0001). The serum levels of ANCA IgG and IgA were potentiated in old female patients, while serum PAB IgG was easy to be detected in the young male patients with IBD.

Methylation of CALCA and CALCB in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) plays a diverse and intricate role in chronic low-grade inflammation and is closely related to specific cancers. It includes two subtypes, CALCA (αCGRP) and CALCB (ßCGRP), of which αCGRP expression accounts for more than 90%. Here, we show that methylation of CALCA and CALCB in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma was significantly higher than that in paracancer. Western blot and immunohistochemistry showed that CGRP, p-AKT, and p-CREB in the tumor tissues were lower than those in the paracarcinoma tissues. In vivo, the expressions of p-AKT and p-CREB in the pancreatic tissues of CALCA-KO rats were also lower than those of wild type. Methylation of CALCA and CALCB is increased in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and under that condition, p-AKT and p-CREB levels were decreased.

DDIT4 Novel Mutations in Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. This study is aimed at searching the possible genetic mutations and the value of novel gene mutation in the DNA damage-inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) and signaling pathway in pancreatic cancer. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify the DNA sequences of DDIT4 from patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. In addition, we used IHC to detect the expression level of DDIT4 in patients with pancreatic cancer in different types of gene mutation. Double-labeled immunofluorescence was employed to explore the expression levels of DDIT4/LC3 and their potential correlation. Our work indicated the two novel stable gene mutations in DDIT4 mRNA 3'-untranslated region (m.990 U>A and m.1246 C>U). Thirteen samples were found to have mutation in the DDIT4 3'-untranslated regions (UTR). To further verify the influence of gene mutation on protein expression, we performed immunohistochemistry on different gene mutation types, and we found a correlation between DDIT4 expression and gene mutation, which is accompanied by nuclear staining deepening. In order to further discuss the clinical value of DDIT4 gene mutation, immunofluorescence suggested that the expression of DDIT4 colocated with LC3; thus, we speculated that DDIT4 mutation may be involved in autophagy in pancreatic cancer cell. In this study, we found mutation in the 3'-UTR region of DDIT4, which may be associated with DDIT4 expression and tumor autophagy in pancreatic cancer tissues.

[Research on community promotion and application of single acupoint electroacupuncture therapy for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of single acupoint [Yaotu (extra)] electroacupuncture (EA) therapy on lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LIDH) and its promotion and application in community medical institutions. METHODS: This research adopted a three-level promotion model, and used multi-center collaboration topics as a platform. A total of 240 patients with LIDH were divided into a group A (top three hospital, 80 cases, 3 cases dropped off), a group B (secondary hospital, 80 cases, 8 cases dropped off), and a group C (community health center, 80 cases, 7 cases dropped off). All groups were treated with EA at a single acupoint [Yaotu (extra)] under the guidance of a unified experimental protocol. The EA was given 60 min each time and performed 3 times a week for a total of 2 weeks. The changes of visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of three groups before and after each treatment were compared, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with before each treatment, the VAS scores of three groups after each treatment decreased (P<0.05). Except for the second and fifth treatments, the immediate effect in the group A was higher than that in the group B and C (P<0.05). The total effective rate of group A, group B, and group C respectively was 90.9% (70/77), 93.1% (67/72), 86.3% (63/73), and there was no statistically significant difference among the three groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The single acupoint EA therapy has a significant effect in the treatment of LIDH, can quickly relieve the pain symptoms, and has the characteristics of simple operation and easy control, suitable for promotion and application in primary hospitals.

Platelet Antibodies in Infertility Patients.

BACKGROUND: Platelet antigens can stimulate the body to produce platelet alloimmune antibodies through blood transfusion, pregnancy, and autoimmunity. In the blood of pregnant women, anti-platelet antibodies can cause embryo implantation failure, abortion, etc. if they are present. METHODS: The platelet antibody was screened in 326 infertile patients (282 primary infertility and 44 secondary infertility) and 522 healthy controls in the physical examination center of our hospital by solid phase agglutination of red blood cells. RESULTS: The positive rate of anti-platelet antibody was 9.51% in the infertility group and 2.30% in the healthy control group. There was a significant difference between them (χ2 = 4.51, p < 0.05). The positive rate of anti-platelet antibody in the infertility group was significantly higher than that in the control group. The positive rate of anti-platelet antibody in the secondary infertility patients was significantly higher than that in the primary infertility patients (χ2 = 1.62, p < 0.05), and the positive rate of serum anti-platelet antibody increased gradually with the increase of infertility years. CONCLUSIONS: The positive rate of anti-platelet antibody is closely related to infertility and gradually increases with the age of infertility.

Fabrication of N-doped carbons from waste bamboo shoot shell with high removal efficiency of organic dyes from water.

N-doped carbons were obtained from bamboo shoot shell via hydrothermal pretreatment under salt assistance followed by carbonization, using melamine as nitrogen source. The carbons with tubular morphology and surface areas in 406-489 m2/g range were used as adsorbents for the removal of methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB). Adsorption isotherms and kinetic fitting showed much better accordance with Freundlich model and pseudo-second-order, showing balanced capacity (qe) of 50 mg/g for MO and 42 mg/g for RhB on the pristine carbons (BHC-800) at 25 °C. After N-doping treatment, carbons (BSC-M20) had qe of MO and RhB up to 140 and 100 mg/g, respectively, confirming a positive effect of N-doping on the enhancement of dyes removal. The findings indicated that hydrothermal treatment followed by carbonization was efficient to obtain N-doped carbons from biomass materials, and the present BSS-derived carbons were promising adsorbents for organic dyes removal from water.

Analysis of the burden and trend of injury in Sichuan, China, from 2006 to 2015: results from the national injury surveillance system.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the distribution, burden and trends of injuries in Sichuan, China. DESIGN: A surveillance study using injury data collected by the National Injury Surveillance System. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 312 511 injury cases reported in the National Injury Surveillance System in Sichuan, China, from 2006 to 2015. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Years of potential life lost (YPLL) were calculated to determine the disease burden from injuries. Trend analysis was performed to assess the trends in specific injuries over time. RESULTS: A total of 312 511 injury cases were reported in the last 10 years in Sichuan with 192 904 (men: 58.58%) and 119 607 (men: 67.11%) cases from the urban and rural surveillance hospitals, respectively. The annual number of injury cases increased from 21 257 in 2006 to 44 112 in 2015 with an average annual increase of 8.45%. The top three common causes of injury were fall (29.3%), animal-related injury (19.1%) and road-related injury (14.6%) in the urban area and fall (38.4%), road-related injury (17.2%) and blunt injuries (16.0%) in the rural area. YPLLs from injuries accounted for 13% of the total YPLLs in the urban area. CONCLUSIONS: The number of injury cases varied according to rural/urban areas and gender and increased sharply in Sichuan over the last decade. It is necessary to develop targeted prevention and control measures to reduce the disease burden of injuries.

Stabilization of aqueous graphene dispersions utilizing a biocompatible dispersant: a molecular dynamics study.

Flavin mononucleotide sodium (FMNS) was recently reported as a highly efficient dispersant for the exfoliation of defect-free, few-layer, stabilized aqueous graphene dispersions. Most importantly, FMNS is innocuous and eco-friendly and can facilitate biomedical applications of graphene. Complementing those experimental studies, the influence of FMNS molecules on the aggregation behavior of graphene flakes in solution is investigated via all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. The stabilizing role of FMNS is demonstrated by the potential of mean force calculations for pairs of graphene flakes covered by FMNS molecules. These results indicate that the optimal amount ratio between FMNS molecules and carbon atoms in monolayer graphene is about 0.026 leading to a surface coverage of 0.34 FMNS molecules per nm2 on the graphene flakes. Overall the simulations support the high efficiency of FMNS as a surfactant compared to other surfactants.

Tailoring the Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Graphene Film by Structural Engineering.

Due to substantial phonon scattering induced by various structural defects, the in-plane thermal conductivity (K) of graphene films (GFs) is still inferior to the commercial pyrolytic graphite sheet (PGS). Here, the problem is solved by engineering the structures of GFs in the aspects of grain size, film alignment, and thickness, and interlayer binding energy. The maximum K of GFs reaches to 3200 W m-1 K-1 and outperforms PGS by 60%. The superior K of GFs is strongly related to its large and intact grains, which are over four times larger than the best PGS. The large smooth features about 11 µm and good layer alignment of GFs also benefit on reducing phonon scattering induced by wrinkles/defects. In addition, the presence of substantial turbostratic-stacking graphene is found up to 37% in thin GFs. The lacking of order in turbostratic-stacking graphene leads to very weak interlayer binding energy, which can significantly decrease the phonon interfacial scattering. The GFs also demonstrate excellent flexibility and high tensile strength, which is about three times higher than PGS. Therefore, GFs with optimized structures and properties show great potentials in thermal management of form-factor-driven electronics and other high-power-driven systems.

Effect of combined treatment with supercritical CO2 and rosemary on microbiological and physicochemical properties of ground pork stored at 4°C.

The effect of combined treatment with supercritical CO2 (2000psi, 35°C for 2h) and rosemary powder (2.5% and 5.0% (w/w)) on microbiological and physicochemical properties of ground pork stored at 4°C was investigated. The changes in total viable count, pH, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), lipid oxidation and instrumental color (CIE L⁎, a⁎, b⁎) were analyzed during a week period of refrigerated storage. It was found that microbial populations were reduced by supercritical CO2 treatment, with the more pronounced effect being achieved by combined treatment with supercritical CO2 and 5.0g rosemary powder/100g meat. Supercritical CO2 treatment for 2h could accelerate lipid oxidation of ground pork during refrigerated storage, whereas combination with rosemary can significantly slow down the increase of oxidation rate. Combined treatment of supercritical CO2 and rosemary significantly increased L⁎ and b⁎ values of the ground pork, while the a⁎, pH and TVB-N value were not affected as compared to the treatment with supercritical CO2 alone. The results of this study indicate that combined treatment of supercritical CO2 and rosemary may be useful in the meat industry to enhance the storage stability of ground pork treated with long time exposure of supercritical CO2 during refrigerated storage.

[Study on the clinical value of cervical spondylosis with articulatio atlantoepistrophica sublaxation].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of articulatio atlantoepistrophica sublaxation on the pathogenesis of cervical spondylosis, and provide a thread for diagnosis and treatment of cervical spondylosis with manipulation. METHODS: There were two groups in the study, which were non cervical spondylosis group and cervical spondylosis group. There were 333 patients in cervical spondylosis group, included 119 males and 214 females with the mean age of(48.11±12.21) years old. The patients were recruited from clinic service of orthopaedics in Shuguang Hospital between March 2006 and December 2008. There were 73 subjects in non cervical spondylosis group, included 18 males and 55 females with the mean of(45.99±11.47) years old. The subjects were recruited from undergraduate students, postgraduate, advanced study persons, and community personnel. The position relation of the atlanto axial joint was observed by cervical X rays with opening position, and the incidence rate of articulatio atlantoepistrophica sublaxation was compared between two groups, and their clinical characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS: The incidence of articulatio atlantoepistrophica sublaxation in cervical spondylosis group was 81.38%(271/333)and was more than non cervical spondylosis group(P<0.01). Furthermore, the pattern of the articulatio atlantoepistrophica sublaxation in cervical spondylosis group was complicated and diversified, which was 50.55% (137/271)with single moving sublaxation, 7.01%(19/271) with revolving sublaxation, 42.44%(115/271) with single moving and revolving sublaxation. CONCLUSIONS: The articulatio atlantoepistrophica sublaxation may be a X ray diagnostic indication to the cervical spondylosis, which should be grouping studied in clinic. It will provide guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical spondylosis.

[Specific lumbocrural pain and the individual diagnosis of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation].

Pain is all lumbocrural pain cases very common clinical symptoms,but the etiology, pathology, site (range or area), intensity, nature, evolution situation and influence factors of pain usually has some certain characteristics and rules, these differences particularly are regarded as the primary and important basis or clue for the clinical diagnosis and differential diagnosis of related diseases. In addition, according to these differences can determine the individual diagnosis of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation as well, including typical and atypical, simple and compound, the general and special cases, these be- come the basis to determine the individualized therapeutic schedule of this disese.