Attention-Dominated Cognitive Dysfunction May Be a Biological Marker for Distinguishing SA from SI in Adolescents: A Network Analysis Study Based on Adolescent Depression.

Objective: Suicidal behavior is strongly correlated with depressive symptoms and the degree of suicidal ideation. Cognitive impairment may have varying degrees of influence on suicidal ideation (SI) and suicidal attempts (SA). The aim of this study was to identify the cognitive biomarkers that distinguish suicidal ideation from suicidal attempts in adolescents. Methods: The cross-sectional sample comprised 54 adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 32 healthy controls (HC). The THINC-it was utilized to assess cognitive function of all the samples. Suicidal ideation was examined by the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Scale (PANSI). Based on the type of data, one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis was performed to investigate group differences. Bonferroni post-hoc analysis was employed for regulating type I error for pairwise comparisons. Network analysis was used to compare the networks associated with suicidal ideation, depression symptoms, and cognitive function between SA and SI. Results: The depression symptoms (HAMD-17) (F=72.515, P<0.001) and suicidal ideation (PANSI) (F=267.952, P<0.001) in the SA were higher than those in the SI. Analysis of between-group differences showed SA performed worse in THINC-it, especially in "Spotter (SP)" (P=0.033), "Objective cognition score (OS)" (P=0.027) and "Composite score (CS)" (P=0.017). Compared with SI, network analysis revealed that SA had a unique network of cognitive function, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Nevertheless, both networks exhibit comparable performance concerning the node strength of cognitive function. Within their separate networks, the aspects of CS, OS, and SP have emerged as the three most crucial elements. Conclusion: Adolescents with SI or SA exhibit a broad spectrum of cognitive impairments. Attention impairment can be beneficial in discerning between SI and SA. Future interventions for adolescent suicide can center on attention and the comprehensive cognitive ability that it represents.

Clinical Report of a Rare Mucinous Staphylococcus Aureus Infection.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen in suppurative infection, which can cause local suppurative infection, pneumonia, etc. A case of double renal calculi complicated with chronic renal insufficiency and mucinous Staphylococcus aureus infection was analyzed and discussed. METHODS: Bacterial culture, identification, and next-generation sequencing. RESULTS: The mucous colony was identified as Staphylococcus aureus, and the condition improved after symptomatic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Mucinous Staphylococcus is a rare clinical microorganism, which needs to be verified by experiments to avoid false negative results. Genetic sequencing is used to identify strains if necessary.

Evaluation and promotion strategy of resilience of urban water supply system under flood and drought disasters.

With global climate change and the rapid urbanization, urban flood and drought disasters are frequent and urban water supply systems are facing a sea of serious challenges. It is crucial to assess the resilience of urban water supply systems and develop corresponding disaster mitigation and improvement strategies. Urban water supply systems include many subsystems, but existing researches generally focus on a single subsystem. Therefore, this paper proposes a correlation analysis method and a factor analysis method for the resilience evaluation index system of urban water supply systems by combining each subsystem and applying grey system theory. The method can reflect the four dimensions of the water supply process (water source, water plant, supply and distribution network and users) and the five dimensions of the urban management system (society, natural environment, economy, physics and organization). Taking Qingdao as an example, a multi-level integrated evaluation model based on a cloud model is applied to simulate and analyze the resilience of Qingdao's water supply system. As a result, decision support is provided for planning and building resilience systems for urban water systems in the short and long term, based on four main factors.

Enhancing emulsion functionality using multilayer technology: Coating lipid droplets with saponin-polypeptide-polysaccharide layers by electrostatic deposition.

Electrically charged food-grade biopolymers can be used to form multilayer coatings around the lipid droplets in oil-in-water emulsions using a sequential layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition approach. In principle, this approach can be used to improve the stability and enhance the functionality of food emulsions. In this study, multilayer coatings were formed from saponins, polypeptides, and polysaccharides using medium chain triglyceride (MCT) lipid droplets as templates (pH 4.0). First, an emulsion containing negatively charged lipid droplets was created using quillaja saponin (QS) as an anionic emulsifier. Second, these anionic droplets were coated with a cationic polypeptide (poly-L-lysine, PLL) to form positively-charged droplets. Finally, these cationic droplets were coated with a negatively-charged polysaccharide, either pectin (PE) or κ-carrageenan (KC), to form anionic droplets. Overall, the 1-layer emulsions had the best resistance to salt, pH, and heat, indicating that quillaja saponins were effective emulsifiers. The 2-layer emulsions had better pH-stability than the 3-layer emulsions, which tended to strongly aggregate under acidic conditions. Conversely, the 3-layer emulsions had better salt-stability than the 2-layer emulsions, which tended to aggregate strongly even at low salt levels (50-100 mM NaCl). All the emulsions were relatively stable to heating (90 °C, 30 min). Overall, our results provide useful insights into the formulation of stable multilayer emulsions from food-grade emulsifiers and biopolymers. There appears to be little advantage to using the multilayer technology to enhance the physical stability of saponin-coated lipid droplets, but there may be advantages in terms of extending their functional properties, which will be explored in future studies.

Correction: Factors impacting lipid digestion and nutraceutical bioaccessibility assessed by standardized gastrointestinal model (INFOGEST): oil droplet size.

Correction for 'Factors impacting lipid digestion and nutraceutical bioaccessibility assessed by standardized gastrointestinal model (INFOGEST): oil droplet size' by Yunbing Tan et al., Food Funct., 2020, 11, 9936-9946, DOI: 10.1039/D0FO01505A.

Stabilization of soybean oil-in-water emulsions using polypeptide multilayers: Cationic polylysine and anionic polyglutamic acid.

Oil-in-water emulsions are used as delivery systems for non-polar functional ingredients in various industries, including foods, cosmetics, personal care products, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Emulsions, however, tend to breakdown under the conditions found in many commercial products. In this study, the functional performance of the lipid droplets in emulsions was tailored by sequential layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition of oppositely charged polypeptides onto their surfaces. Cationic poly-L-lysine (PLL) and anionic poly-glutamic acid (PGA) were used as a pair of oppositely charged polypeptides (pH 4.0). First, a primary emulsion (10% w/w soybean oil-in-water emulsion) was formed consisting of small lipid droplets (d32 = 500 µm) coated by a natural surfactant (0.05% w/w quillaja saponin). Second, cationic PLL was deposited onto the surfaces of the anionic saponin-coated droplets. Third, anionic PGA was deposited onto the surfaces of the cationic PLL-saponin-coated droplets. We then assessed the ability of the coatings to protect the lipid droplets from aggregation when the pH (2.0-9.0), ionic strength (0-350 mM), or temperature (30-90 °C) were altered. The properties of the primary, secondary, and tertiary emulsions were monitored by measuring the mean particle diameter (d32), electrical characteristics (ζ-potential), and microstructure of the lipid droplets. The electrical characteristics of the droplets could be modulated by controlling the number and type of layers used. The primary emulsion had the best resistance to varying environmental conditions, while the secondary emulsion had the worst, suggesting electrostatic deposition should only be used to obtain specific functionalities. Interestingly, PLL detached from the surfaces of the secondary emulsions at high salt concentrations due to electrostatic screening, which improved their salt stability. This phenomenon may be useful for some food applications, e.g., having cationic droplets during food storage, but anionic ones inside the human body.

Factors impacting lipid digestion and nutraceutical bioaccessibility assessed by standardized gastrointestinal model (INFOGEST): oil.

The oil droplets in commercial emulsified foods have dimensions that vary widely, from hundreds of nanometers to tens of micrometers. Previously, the size of the droplets in oil-in-water emulsions has been shown to impact their gastrointestinal behavior, which may influence their physiological effects. In this study, we analyzed the impact of oil droplet diameter (0.16, 1.1 and 8.2 µm) on lipid digestion and nutraceutical bioaccessibility using a widely used standardized gastrointestinal tract model: the INFOGEST method. The emulsions used consisted of corn oil droplets stabilized using a food-grade non-ionic surfactant (Tween 20), and the droplet size was controlled by preparing them with a microfluidizer (small), sonicator (medium), or high-shear blender (large). The surfactant-coated oil droplets were relatively resistant to size changes in the mouth and stomach, due to the strong surface activity and steric stabilization mechanism of the non-ionic surfactant used. As expected, the kinetics of lipid digestion were enhanced for smaller droplets because of their greater specific surface area. The degree of lipid digestion fell from 117% to 78% (p < 0.001) as the initial droplet diameter was raised from 0.16 to 8.2 µm. In addition, there was a reduction in ß-carotene bioaccessibility from 83 to 15% (p < 0.001) with increasing droplet diameter. This result was ascribed to several effects: (i) some carotenoids were trapped inside the undigested oil phase; (ii) fewer mixed micelles were produced to internalize the carotenoids; and, (iii) a fraction of the carotenoids crystallized and sedimented. Our results underline the critical importance of considering droplet size when developing emulsified foods loaded with carotenoids. The results obtained by the INFOGEST method are consistent with those found using other in vitro methods in earlier studies.

Detailed studies on the anticancer action of rosmarinic acid in human Hep-G2 liver carcinoma cells: evaluating its effects on cellular apoptosis, caspase activation and suppression of cell migration and invasion.

PURPOSE: Liver cancer is one of the most common and highly malignant cancers of the digestive system. The main aim of the present research work was to investigate the anticancer action of rosmarinic acid - a naturally occurring plant secondary metabolite. We also investigated its effects on cell apoptosis, caspase activation, cell migration and cell invasion. METHODS: Cell viability of Hep-G2 liver cancer cells was evaluated by CCK-8 assay while apoptotic studies were carried out by fluorescence microscopy using Hoechst, acridine orange (AO)/ethidium bromide (EB) and Comet assays as well as using annexin-v/propidium iodide (PI) assay for apoptosis quantification. Western blot assay was used to study the effects of rosmarinic acid on apoptosis-related protein expressions including Bax, Bcl-2 and various caspases. In vitro wound healing assay was used to evaluate the effects on cell migration while transwell chambers assay with Matrigel was used to assess the effects of rosmarinic acid on cell invasion. RESULTS: Rosmarinic acid caused significant reduction in the viability of the human Hep-G2 liver carcinoma cells in a dose-dependent manner, exhibiting an IC50 of 14 µM in cancer cells. The AO/EB staining assay showed that rosmarinic acid suppressed the viability of cancer cells via induction of apoptotic cell death which was associated with rise in Bax and decrease in Bcl-2 levels. DAPI staining results also confirmed that rosmarinic acid induced apoptosis. The apoptotic cells increased from 5.8% in control to 24.68% at 28 µM concentration of rosmarinic acid. Rosmarinic acid also caused activation of caspase-3 and 9 along with suppressing liver cancer cell migration and invasion. CONCLUSIONS: The current study shows that rosmarinic acid has a potential to inhibit in vitro cancer cell growth in Hep-G2 cells by triggering apoptosis, caspase activation and suppressing cell migration and invasion and as such this molecule could be developed as a possible anticancer agent provided further studies are carried out.

Impact of fat crystallization on the resistance of W/O/W emulsions to osmotic stress: Potential for temperature-triggered release.

Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsions can be designed to encapsulate, protect, and release both hydrophilic and hydrophobic functional compounds. In this study, we examined the impact of crystallizing the fat phase on the resistance of W/O/W emulsions to osmotic stress, with the aim of developing osmotic-responsive systems. Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) was used as a hydrophobic surfactant to stabilize the inner water droplets, while Quillaja saponin and whey protein isolate (WPI) were used as hydrophilic surfactants to coat the oil droplets. The impact of fat crystallization was examined by using either a liquid (soybean oil, SO) or semi-solid (hydrogenated soybean oil, HSO) fat as the oil phase. An osmotic stress was generated by establishing a sucrose concentration gradient between the internal and external water phases. Alterations in the droplet size, morphology, and stability of the W/O/W emulsions was measured when the sucrose concentration gradient was changed. The W/O droplets in the SO-emulsions swelled/shrank when the external sucrose concentration was below/above the internal sucrose concentration, which is indicative of water diffusing into/out of the droplets. Conversely, there was no change in the size of the W/O droplets in the HSO-emulsions under the same conditions, which was attributed to the mechanical strength of the fat crystal network resisting swelling or shrinking. HSO-emulsions did exhibit swelling when they were heated above a critical temperature, due to melting of the fat crystals and disruption of the crystal network. Our results demonstrate that crystallization of the oil phase of W/O/W emulsions can prevent water transport due to osmotic stress, which may be useful for developing temperature-triggered delivery systems for application in foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, or personal care products.

Characterization of electrostatic interactions and complex formation of ɣ-poly-glutamic acid (PGA) and ɛ-poly-l-lysine (PLL) in aqueous solutions.

Complex coacervation is a useful approach for creating biopolymer-based colloidal particles for the oral delivery of bioactives, such as nutraceuticals, vitamins, and pharmaceuticals. In this study, we examined the possibility of using anionic É£-poly-glutamic acid (PGA) and cationic ɛ-poly-l-lysine (PLL) to form polyelectrolyte complexes. Initially, the formation and properties of the complexes were characterized using visual observations, UV-visible spectrophotometry, microelectrophoresis (ζ-potential), and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The impact of pH, ionic strength, temperature, and polymer ratio on complex formation was examined. The electrostatic complexes formed had a 1:4 mass ratio of polyanion-to-polycation at saturation (pH 7.4). The surface potential and aggregation stability of the complexes was highly dependent on solution pH (2-12), which was attributed to alterations in the electrical characteristics of the two polyelectrolytes. In particular, insoluble complexes were formed under pH conditions where there was a strong electrostatic attraction between the two polyelectrolytes, whereas soluble complexes were formed when there was only a weak attraction. The addition of salt (≥20 mM NaCl) promoted aggregation of the complexes, presumably due to screening of the electrostatic interactions between them. Conversely, temperature (25-90 °C) did not have a major impact on the stability of the complexes. These results may be useful for the design of effective oral delivery systems for bioactive agents in foods and other products.

Multi-phase detection of antioxidants using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with a gold nanoparticle-coated fiber.

The development of a method for multi-phase detection of antioxidants using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with a gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-coated fiber as a substrate is described. The AuNP-coated fiber was directly inserted into a multi-phase system containing model analytes of ascorbic acid, ascorbyl palmitate, and α-tocopherol, representing hydrophilic, amphiphilic, and lipophilic antioxidants, respectively. The AuNP-coated fiber enabled simultaneous detection of antioxidants present within the aqueous, interfacial, and organic phases of the multi-phase system. An oil-in-water emulsion was used as a model multi-phase system, where the antioxidant profiles of the three model analytes were successfully characterized. This method enables rapid, simultaneous, and non-destructive analysis of multiple antioxidants in complex multi-phase systems.

Modulation of Physicochemical Characteristics of Pickering Emulsions: Utilization of Nanocellulose- and Nanochitin-Coated Lipid Droplet Blends.

Mixed Pickering emulsions were prepared by blending anionic nanocellulose-stabilized lipid droplets with cationic nanochitin-stabilized lipid droplets. Changes in the surface potential, particle size, shear viscosity, and morphology of the mixed emulsions were characterized when the droplet mixing ratio was varied. Emulsion properties could be tailored by altering the pH and mixing ratio. Surface potential measurements suggested that the nanochitin-coated lipid droplets adsorbed to the surfaces of the nanocellulose-coated lipid droplets, thereby dominating the overall electrical characteristics of the mixed emulsions. As a result, the mixed emulsions had better stability to coalescence than the single emulsions containing only nanocellulose-coated lipid droplets. Our results suggest that the physicochemical properties, shelf life, and functional performance of Pickering emulsions may be modulated by blending different kinds of particle-stabilized lipid droplets together.

Impact of calcium levels on lipid digestion and nutraceutical bioaccessibility in nanoemulsion delivery systems studied using standardized INFOGEST digestion protocol.

Recently, the standardized in vitro digestion model ("INFOGEST method") used to evaluate the gastrointestinal fate of foods has been revised and updated (Brodkorb et al., 2019, Nat. Protoc., 2019, 14, 991-1014). Under fed state conditions, the calcium level used in this model is fixed and relatively low: 0.525 mM. In practice, the calcium concentration in the human gut depends on the nature of the food consumed and may vary from person-to-person. For this reason, we examined the impact of calcium concentration on the gastrointestinal fate of a model nutraceutical delivery system. The effect of calcium level (0.525-10 mM) on lipid digestion and ß-carotene bioaccessibility in corn oil-in-water nanoemulsion was investigated using the INFOGEST method. At all calcium levels, the lipids were fully digested, but this could only be established by carrying out a back titration (to pH 9) at the end of the small intestine phase. Conversely, the bioaccessibility of ß-carotene decreased with increasing calcium levels: from 65.5% at 0.525 mM Ca2+ to 23.7% at 10 mM Ca2+. This effect was attributed to the ability of the calcium ions to precipitate the ß-carotene-loaded mixed micelles by forming insoluble calcium soaps. The ability of calcium ions to reduce carotenoid bioaccessibility may have important nutritional implications. Our results show that the bioaccessibility of hydrophobic carotenoids measured using the INFOGEST method is highly dependent on the calcium levels employed, which may have important consequences for certain calcium-rich foods. Moreover, we have shown the importance of carrying out a back titration to accurately measure free fatty acid levels in the presence of low calcium levels.

Chitosan reduces vitamin D bioaccessibility in food emulsions by binding to mixed micelles.

Consumption of sufficiently high quantities of dietary fibers has been linked to a range of health benefits. Recent research, however, has shown that some dietary fibers interfere with lipid digestion, which may reduce the bioavailability of oil-soluble vitamins and nutraceuticals. For this reason, we examined the impact of a cationic polysaccharide (chitosan) on the bioaccessibility of vitamin D using the standardized INFOGEST in vitro digestion model. The vitamin D was encapsulated within an emulsion-based delivery system that contained whey protein-coated corn oil droplets. Our results showed that chitosan promoted severe droplet flocculation in the small intestine and reduced the amount of free fatty acids detected using a pH-stat method. However, a back-titration of the digested sample showed that the lipids were fully digested at all chitosan levels used (0.1-0.5%), suggesting that chitosan may have bound some of the free fatty acids released during lipid digestion. The presence of the chitosan decreased the bioaccessibility of vitamin D by about 37%, but this effect did not depend strongly on chitosan concentration (0.1-0.5%). It was hypothesized that chitosan bound to the vitamin-loaded mixed micelles and promoted their precipitation. The knowledge gained in this study might provide useful insights in designing emulsion-based delivery systems with high vitamin bioaccessibility.

Role of Mucin in Behavior of Food-Grade TiO2 Nanoparticles under Simulated Oral Conditions.

Fine titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles have been used as additives (E171) to modify the optical properties of foods and beverages for many years. Commercial TiO2 additives, however, often contain a significant fraction of nanoparticles (diameter <100 nm), which has led to some concern about their potentially adverse health effects. At present, relatively little is known about how the characteristics of TiO2 particles are altered as they travel through the human gastrointestinal tract. Alterations in their electrical characteristics, surface composition, or aggregation state would be expected to alter their gastrointestinal fate. The main focus of this study was, therefore, to characterize the behavior of TiO2 particles under simulated oral conditions. Changes in the aggregation state and electrical characteristics were monitored using particle size, ζ-potential, turbidity, and electron microscopy measurements, whereas information about mucin-particle interactions were obtained using isothermal titration calorimetry and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Our results indicate that there was a strong interaction between TiO2 and mucin: mucin absorbed to the surfaces of the TiO2 particles and reduced their tendency to aggregate. The information obtained in this study is useful for better understanding the gastrointestinal fate and potential toxicity of ingested inorganic particles.

Impact of an indigestible oil phase (mineral oil) on the bioaccessibility of vitamin D3 encapsulated in whey protein-stabilized nanoemulsions.

These is some interest in replacing digestible fats with indigestible ones to decrease the energy-density of foods. The utilization of indigestible oils, however, may have unforeseen nutritional consequences, such as the reduction of vitamin bioavailability. In this study, the impact of an indigestible oil on the bioaccessibility of emulsified vitamin D3 (VD) was examined. We prepared four kinds of nanoemulsions using different combinations of a digestible oil (DO) and an indigestible oil (IO): DO only; IO only; an oil mixture (OM) consisting of 1:1 DO:IO mixed before homogenization; and, an emulsion mixture (EM) consisting of 1:1 DO:IO nanoemulsions mixed after homogenization. A gastrointestinal tract (GIT) model was employed to elucidate the kinetics of VD bioaccessibility from the nanoemulsions. Both the lipid digestion rate and vitamin bioaccessibility decreased in the same order: DO > OM ≈ EM > IO. The change in vitamin bioaccessibility over time under simulated small intestine conditions was also measured. With the exception of the IO nanoemulsions, the vitamin bioaccessibility increased to a maximum value after around 30 min, but then decreased during the following 24 h. This effect was attributed to an initial solubilization of the vitamin within the mixed micelles, followed by their precipitation during prolonged incubation. Our results show that lipid digestion, micelle solubilization, and micelle aggregation impact the in vitro bioaccessibility of vitamin D. This knowledge may be helpful for designing more efficacious nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for fat-soluble vitamins.

Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Reduces Fat Accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a polyphenol that is abundant in green tea. It has been reported that consumption of EGCG can contribute to weight loss, however, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. To determine how EGCG reduces body fat, an organism model Caenorhabditis elegans was used, which is a useful animal model system in exploring crucial biological mechanisms that are readily applicable to humans. In this study, different strains were raised for two days on Escherichia coli OP 50 diet with or without 100 µM and 200 µM EGCG treatment. The current results showed that 100 µM and 200 µM EGCG significantly reduced the triglyceride content of wild type worms by 10% and 20% (P-value<0.01 and <0.001, respectively) compared to the control, respectively, without affecting its food intake and physiological behaviors. Additionally, EGCG could effectively reduce fat accumulation in C. elegans dependent on atgl-1 (encoding a homolog of adipose triglyceride lipase), which suggests that EGCG controls the body fat by inhibiting adipogenesis.

Liver transplantation in acute-on-chronic liver failure patients with high model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores: a single center experience of 100 consecutive cases.

BACKGROUND: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a severe clinical condition for which liver transplantation (LT) is the only curative option. However, there are little published data on risk factors and outcomes of LT for ACLF. METHODS: The objective of this study was to analyze preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative, and overall survival data on 100 consecutive cases with ACLF in order to try to determine for which patients LT are futile. RESULTS: One hundred consecutive patients with pathology-confirmed ACLF who underwent LT from June 2004 to September 2012 were enrolled. The preoperative data showed that all patients were in a serious condition with a median high model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score of 32, total bilirubin of 440.20 umol/L, international normalized ratio (INR) of 3.012, and at least one organ dysfunction as assessed by a Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score of ≥9. The patients had either deceased or a living donor LT with an overall mortality of 20%. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year cumulative survival rates were 76.8%, 75.6%, and 74.1%, respectively, and graft 1-, 3-, and 5-y accumulative survival rates were 73.3%, 72.1%, and 70.6%, respectively. However, the area under receiver operating characteristic of SOFA score, MELD score, as well as Child-Pugh score were 0.552, 0.547, and 0.547, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Both deceased and living donor LT are effective therapeutic options for patients with ACLF and the short- and long-term survival rates are encouraging. It is important to conduct more prospective and multi-center studies to define preoperatively which patients would benefit from LT.