Differentiating Definite and Probable Ménière Disease: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Audio-Vestibular Function Testing Combined with Inner Ear MRI.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the differences between audio-vestibular function testing and inner ear gadolinium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in distinguishing definite Ménière disease (DMD) and probable Ménière disease (PMD), and to provide a reference for early clinical diagnosis and intervention. METHODS: A total of 116 patients diagnosed with DMD (n = 80) and PMD (n = 36) were enrolled. The differences in the results of pure tone audiometry, caloric test, and tympanic injection of gadolinium for contrast-enhanced MRI between the two groups were compared and analyzed. Parameters that could differentiate between the two conditions were identified, and the sensitivity and specificity and the area under the curve (AUC) of individual and combined indices in the differential diagnosis of DMD and PMD were evaluated. RESULTS: The hearing threshold and hearing asymmetry rate of the DMD group were significantly higher than those of the PMD group (p < 0.001), 98.8% and 30.6%, respectively. The abnormal rates of canal paresis (CP) and severity of endolymphatic hydrops in the DMD group were higher than those in the PMD group (p < 0.05). When combined with high-frequency hearing thresholds, hearing asymmetry, hearing curve type, endolymphatic hydrops, and abnormal CP, the diagnostic accuracy of DMD was improved compared to using high-frequency alone (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study showed that PMD and DMD may represent two different stages in the development of MD disease. The comprehensive assessment of audio-vestibular function testing and inner ear MRI proves beneficial for early diagnosis, potentially contributing to the preservation of inner ear function.

Chronic exercise interventions for executive function in overweight children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of chronic exercise in physical activity (PA) as an intervention for executive functions (EFs) in children. Methods: We conducted a systematic search in the following online databases: Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, and EBSCOhost. The timing is from database inception to July 2023, following PRISMA guidelines. Our inclusion criteria required studies reporting executive function (EF) levels in overweight children (age 0-18 years) before and after interventions. The Cochrane risk of bias tool assessed study bias, and Egger's test examined publication bias. Subgroup analyses considered three moderators: intervention duration, weekly frequency, and session length. Results: The meta-analysis included a total of 10 studies with 843 participants. It revealed a statistically significant yet relatively small overall positive effect (g = 0.3, 95% CI 0.16-0.44, P < 0.01) of chronic exercise on EF in overweight children. Importantly, there was no significant heterogeneity (Q = 11.64, df = 12, P = 0.48; I2 = 0). Conclusions: Chronic exercise interventions had a consistent positive impact on EF, irrespective of intervention duration, weekly frequency, or session length. However, given limitations in the number and design of studies, further high-quality research is needed to strengthen these conclusions. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO identifier (CRD42023468588).

Improving the survival of Lactobacillus plantarum FZU3013 by phase separated caseinate/alginate gel beads.

The phase separation behavior of mixed solution of caseinate (Cas) and alginate (Alg) was investigated. Lactobacillus plantarum FZU3013 was encapsulated using 4 % Cas/1 % Alg gel beads with a phase-separated structure. The bacteria were predominantly distributed in the Alg-rich continuous phase. The use of 4 % Cas/1 % Alg beads resulted in higher encapsulation efficiency for L. plantarum FZU3013 compared to 1 % Alg beads. After 5 weeks of storage at 4 °C, the viable count in 4 % Cas/1 % Alg beads was 8.3 log CFU/g, which was 1.1 log CFU/g higher than that of the 1 % Alg beads. When 1 % Alg beads of the smallest size were subjected to in vitro digestion, no viable bacteria could be detected at the end of the digestion, whereas the 4 % Cas/1 % Alg beads of the smallest size had a viable count of 3.9 log CFU/g. When the size of the 4 % Cas/1 % Alg beads was increased to 1000 µm, the viable count was 7.0 log CFU/g after digestion. The results of infrared spectroscopy and zeta potential indicated that hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions between caseinate and alginate reinforced the structure of the gel beads and improved the protection for L. plantarum FZU 3013.

A comparative study of lung-microscopy and tissue homogenate in detecting Angiostrongylus cantonensis in the Pomacea canaliculata / 中国热带医学

@#Abstract: Objective　To compare the efficiency of lung-microscopy and tissue homogenate in the detection of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae from Pomacea canaliculate, with the amin of finding a simple and rapid method suitable for different scenarios. Methods　Pomacea canaliculata was caught and collected from ponds, ditches, rivers and other environments in the confirmed epidemic areas reported by predecessors. After each snail was weighed one by one, and dissected into two parts: lung sac and muscle. Firstly, each snail lung sac was check for nodules with lung-microscopy, and the nodules were picked out with anatomical needle and press them separately. Then, the worm was found and identified for worm species under microscope, and the lung sac and snail meat then was rechecked with tissue homogenate. Results　A total of 330 snails were detected, with 19.1% (63/330) snails with Angiostrongylus cantonensis stage Ⅲ larvae were detected by tissue homogenate and 15.8% (52/330) snails with nodules were detected by lung-microscopy. Among them, 36 snails with nodules and larvae were detected by the lung-microscopy, and all of them were positive by the tissue homogenate, with a coincidence rate of 100% (36/36); 16 snails with nodules but no larvae, among which 6 snails were positive and 10 snails were negative by the tissue homogenate, The false detection rate was 19.2% (10/52). 278 snails with no nodules, but 21 of them were detected by the tissue homogenate, the missing rate was 7.6% (21/278). There was no significant difference between tissue homogenate and lung-microscopy (taking the positive determination of nodules as the standard) (χ2=1.27, P=0.26, P>0.05). There was significant difference between tissue homogenate and lung-microscopy (taking the detection of larvae as the standard)(χ2=8.66, P = 0.003, P<0.01). There was no significant difference between the two methods and tissue homogenate in the detection rate of large snails ( ≥25 g, χ2=0.08，P=0.777; χ2=2.58, P=0.108), but there was significant difference between the two methods and tissue homogenate in the detection rate of small snail (≤10 g, χ2=5.63, P=0.02). Conclusions　Compared with the tissue homogenate, lung-microscopy is simple in the detection of large snails, requires less instruments and equipment, and its detection speed is faster. It is suitable for the field investigation of the natural focus of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The tissue homogenate has high sensitivity, can directly display the insect state and activity, has strong insect vitality and high detection rate, it's more suitable for food safety risk monitoring.