Ultrasound as an effective technique to reduce higher alcohols of wines and its influencing mechanism investigation by employing a model wine.

In this paper, in order to investigate the effects of ultrasound irradiation on the higher alcohols of wines, the parameters including ultrasound time, temperature and power were optimized by the response surface methodology, and the model wine solution was employed to explore the mechanism of ultrasonically decreasing the higher alcohols. The results indicate that the maximum decreasing of higher alcohols could be obtained under the ultrasound conditions of 30 min, 30 °C and 150 W, and the final content was 306.75 mg/L with the reduction rate of 40.44%, suggesting a modification of wine quality due to the negative effects of excessive contents on wine. Regarding the results of model wine, it indicates that the decrease could be definitely affected by factors, such as tartaric acid and ions in wine, which might be attributed to the free radicals generated from ultrasound cavitation and its subsequent reactions. In summary, all the results may help to understand the effects of ultrasound irradiation on improving the sensory properties of wine by decreasing the higher alcohols.

Induction of HT-29 cells apoptosis by lactobacilli isolated from fermented products.

A total of 138 lactobacillus strains were obtained from the traditional fermented foods of minority nationalities or infant faeces, respectively. The lactobacillus strains were screened for anticancer effects and probiotic potential. The results showed that 10 strains exerted anti-proliferative activity and higher adhering capability on HT-29 cells. They were then screened for resistance to biological barriers (acid and bile salts), and the four most promising strains were selected. Further analysis revealed that the 4 strains (cell walls and cytoplasm extracts) displayed the high anti-proliferative activity and the large extent of DNA strand breakage in individual cells. Through the selected procedure, cell walls that were extracted from X12, M5 and K14 strains induced apoptosis in HT-29 cells. Further investigation confirmed that apoptosis-inducing ability of cell wall extracts was attributed to the breakdown of mitochondrial membrane potential, which is a known initiation of apoptotic mitochondrial pathway. Cell walls from X12, M5 and K14 strains, were determined to be less harmful to noncancerous Vero cells than to human colon cancer HT-29 cells. These findings suggested that X12, M5 and K14 strains opposing the ability to induce HT-29 cells apoptosis, and cell wall extracts were involved in this apoptosis induction.

Treatment of nutcracker syndrome with spermatic vein ligation and iliac vein anastomosis: case report of three cases.

Three patients with nutcracker syndrome (NCS) were enrolled in the study. Their clinical symptoms mainly included proteinuria and serious varicocele. Color Doppler ultrasound and computed tomography showed that the patients had constricted abdominal aortas, reduced superior mesenteric artery angles, and thinned left renal veins. Patients then underwent left spermatic vein ligation and iliac vein anastomosis. They were checked three months after their operation, and results showed that their sperms were improved and their proteinuria disappeared. The color Doppler ultrasound showed new cycle pathways. NCS clinical manifestations are complicated, and need combination diagnosis of symptoms and auxiliary examination to determine surgical indications. Ligation of spermatic vein and vein anastomosis can be used to treat NCS.