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Chun-Ming Ma,1 Ning Wang,2 Quan-Wei Su,3 Ying Yan,3 Fu-Zai Yin1 1Department of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Internal Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Chengde Medical College, Chengde, Hebei, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Fu-Zai Yin Email yinfuzai62@163.comObjective: To compare the performance of CURB-65 and Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) for predicting in-hospital mortality of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) between patients with and without type 2 diabetes (T2DM).Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 2365 CAP patients in The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, China. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The area under curves (AUCs) was used to evaluate the abilities of CRB-65, CURB-65, and PSI class for predicting in-hospital mortality in patients with CAP.Results: Among CAP patients, 127 patients (5.4%) died, 80 patients were without diabetes, and 47 patients had T2DM. In-hospital mortality increased with the risk stratification defined as CURB-65 and PSI class in both non-diabetes and T2DM patients (P< 0.05). The AUCs for predicting in-hospital mortality were 0.728～0.798 in patients without T2DM (CRB-65: 0.728, CURB-65: 0.757 and PSI class: 0.798) and 0.641～0.716 in patients with T2DM (CRB-65: 0.641, CURB-65: 0.677 and PSI class: 0.716)(P< 0.001). The AUC of the PSI class was lower in patients with T2DM than in patients without T2DM (P< 0.05).Conclusion: CURB-65 and PSI class are correlated with in-hospital mortality of CAP in patients with and without T2DM. Compared with non-diabetes patients, the predictive performance of CURB-65 and PSI class decreased in patients with T2DM. A prediction model for evaluating the CAP severity in the T2DM population should be developed by future studies.Keywords: community-acquired pneumonia, CURB-65, pneumonia severity index, mortality, type 2 diabetes

Chun-Ming Ma,1 Ning Wang,2 Quan-Wei Su,3 Ying Yan,3 Fu-Zai Yin1 1Department of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Internal Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Chengde Medical College, Chengde, Hebei, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Fu-Zai Yin Email yinfuzai62@163.comObjective: The aim of this study was to develop a tool for predicting in-hospital mortality of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 531 CAP patients with T2DM at The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Variables to develop the nomogram were selected using multiple logistic regression analysis. Discrimination was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Calibration was evaluated using the Hosmer–Lemeshow test and calibration plot.Results: Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age, pulse, urea and albumin (APUA) were independent risk predictors. Based on these results, we developed a nomogram (APUA model) for predicting in-hospital mortality of CAP in T2DM patients. In the training set, the area under the curve (AUC) of the APUA model was 0.814 (95% CI: 0.770– 0.853), which was higher than the AUCs of albumin alone, CURB-65 and Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) class (p< 0.05). The Hosmer–Lemeshow test (χ2=5.298, p=0.808) and calibration plot (p=0.802) showed excellent agreement between the predicted possibility and the actual observation in the APUA model. The results of the validation set were similar to those of the training set.Conclusion: The APUA model is a simple and accurate tool for predicting in-hospital mortality of CAP, adapted for patients with T2DM. The predictive performance of the APUA model was better than CURB-65 and PSI class.Keywords: community-acquired pneumonia, albumin, mortality, type 2 diabetes

Chun-Ming Ma, Fu-Zai Yin Department of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Fu-Zai YinDepartment of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, No. 258 Wenhua Road, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-335-5908368Fax +86-335-3032042Email yinfuzai62@163.comAim: To develop and validate a model, which combines traditional risk factors and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) for predicting the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM).Materials and Methods: This is a historical cohort study from a collected database, which included 8419 males and 7034 females without diabetes at baseline with a median follow-up of 5.8-years and 5.1-years, respectively. Multivariate cox regression analysis was used to select significant prognostic factors of T2DM. Two nomograms were constructed to predict the 5-year incidence of T2DM based on traditional risk factors (Model 1) and traditional risk factors plus HbA1c (Model 2). C-index, calibration curve, and time-dependent receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve were conducted in the training sets and validation sets.Results: In males, the C-index was 0.824 (95% CI: 0.795– 0.853) in Model 1 and 0.867 (95% CI: 0.840– 0.894) in Model 2; in females, the C-index was 0.830 (95% CI: 0.770– 0.890) in Model 1 and 0.856 (95% CI: 0.795– 0.917) in Model 2. The areas under curve (AUC) in Model 2 for prediction of T2DM development were higher than in Model 1 at each time point. The calibration curves showed excellent agreement between the predicted possibility and the actual observation in both models. The results of validation sets were similar to the results of training sets.Conclusion: The proposed nomogram can be used to accurately predict the risk of T2DM. Compared with the traditional nomogram, HbA1c can improve the performance of nomograms for predicting the 5-year incidence of T2DM.Keywords: type 2 diabetes, nomogram, risk factor, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c

Chun-Ming Ma, Fu-Zai YinDepartment of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, People’s Republic of ChinaBackground: The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between hypertriglyceridemic-waist (HTW) phenotype and vitamin D status in type 2 diabetes.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in subjects with type 2 diabetes. This study enrolled 338 type 2 diabetic (190 males and 148 females). The HTW phenotype was defined as serum triglyceride concentrations ≥1.7 mmol/L and waist circumference ≥90 cm (male) and 85 cm (female). Multiple logistic regression models were used for modeling relationships between HTW phenotype and vitamin D status.Results: The prevalence of HTW phenotype was 36.4%. The prevalence of HTW phenotype was 10.5%, 27.2%, and 41.6% in type 2 diabetes with vitamin D sufficiency, vitamin D insufficiency, and vitamin D deficiency, respectively. In multiple logistic regression analysis, subjects with vitamin D deficiency were more likely to have HTW phenotype (OR=6.222, 95%CI: 1.307–29.620, P=0.022) compared with subjects with vitamin D sufficiency.Conclusions: There was a significant correlation between HTW phenotype and vitamin D status in type 2 diabetes.Keywords: hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype, vitamin D status, type 2 diabetes

Chih-Hong Pan,1,2,* Wen-Te Liu,3,4,* Mauo-Ying Bien,4,5 I-Chan Lin,6 Ta-Chih Hsiao,7 Chih-Ming Ma,8 Ching-Huang Lai,2 Mei-Chieh Chen,9 Kai-Jen Chuang,10,11 Hsiao-Chi Chuang3,4 On behalf of the Taiwan CardioPulmonary Research (T-CPR) Group 1Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Labor, 2School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, 3Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, 4School of Respiratory Therapy, College of Medicine, 5Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, 6Department of Ophthalmology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 7Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Central University, Taoyuan, 8Department of Cosmetic Application and Management, St Mary’s Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Sanxing, 9Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, 10Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, 11School of Public Health, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Although the health effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on the ­respiratory system have been reported, the fate, potential toxicity, and mechanisms in biological cells of these particles, as related to particle size and surface characteristics, have not been well elucidated. To determine the physicochemical properties of ZnONPs that govern cytotoxicity, we investigated the effects of size, electronic properties, zinc concentration, and pH on cell viability using human alveolar-basal epithelial A549 cells as a model. We observed that a 2-hour or longer exposure to ZnONPs induced changes in cell viability. The alteration in cell viability was associated with the zeta potentials and pH values of the ZnONPs. Proteomic profiling of A549 exposed to ZnONPs for 2 and 4 hours was used to determine the biological mechanisms of ZnONP toxicity. p53-pathway activation was the core mechanism regulating cell viability in response to particle size. Activation of the Wnt and TGFß signaling pathways was also important in the cellular response to ZnONPs of different sizes. The cadherin and Wnt signaling pathways were important cellular mechanisms triggered by surface differences. These results suggested that the size and surface characteristics of ZnONPs might play an important role in their observed cytotoxicity. This approach facilitates the design of more comprehensive systems for the evaluation of nanoparticles. Keywords: aluminium-doped zinc oxide, nanoparticle, pH, toxicology, WNT pathway, zeta potential

Objective How to organise an appropriate team to provide quality dental care during the Olympic Games has become an important consideration for each successive host country. The aims of this study were to document dental services provided at the Olympic Games and to provide data for planning future events. Set-up of the dental care department There were six dental chairs in six independent treatment rooms, one technical laboratory, a sterilising room and an x-ray room equipped with one digital panoramic screening machine and one intraoral x-ray machine in the polyclinic in the Olympic Village in Beijing. Shifts comprised 80 dentists and 28 nurses who were organised into three shifts working from 08:00 until 23:00. Results In the 2008 Olympic Games, there were 1607 cases involving 1126 patients requiring dental care: 795 cases from 516 athletes; 483 cases from 370 coaches and other staff; and 99 cases from volunteers. Endodontic treatments, permanent fillings, oral hygiene, mouthguards and treatment of pericoronitis were the most frequent procedures in dental care. The Mouthguard Service was extremely popular and well utilised. 122 athletes received new custom-made mouthguards in Beijing. Conclusions As the utilisation of the dental service grows, and the burden of providing care for such a large cohort increases, a well-organised dental team becomes increasingly important. More general-practice dentists were needed in the team. Different kinds of specialist were suggested for working in the team-for example, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, sport dentists for mouthguards and endodontists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gluten-free bread (GFB) has technical bottlenecks such as hard texture, rough taste and low nutrition in practical production. In order to solve these problems, this study used germinated brown rice starch as the main raw material, and investigated the effects of soybean isolate protein (SPI) on the multiscale structure of germinated brown rice starch and bread quality., Results: A gluten-free rice bread process simulation system was established, and the interaction between SPI and starch in the simulation system was characterized. The result shows that the interaction forces between SPI and germinated brown rice starch were mainly represented by hydrogen bonds, and with the addition of SPI, the crystallinity of starch showed a downward trend. At the same time, when the amount of SPI was 3%, the appearance quality was the best and the specific volume of bread was 1.08 mL g -1 . When the amount of SPI was 6%, the texture quality was the best. Compared with the bread without SPI, the hardness of the bread with 6% SPI was reduced by 0.13 times, the springiness was increased by 0.03 times, the color was the most vibrant, the L* value being 1.02 times the original, and the baking loss was reduced to 0.98 times the original., Conclusions: The interaction force between SPI and germinated brown rice starch and its effect on bread quality were clarified, and these results inform choices about providing a theoretical basis for the subsequent development of higher-quality GFB. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: This study explored the denaturation of 11S globulin, a protein known for its diverse functional properties in soy protein applications, at pH 3.0 and pH 10.0, followed by a gradual return to pH 7.0 to facilitate renaturation. It investigated the structural and functional changes during renaturation induced by a change in pH, revealing the stabilization mechanism of 11S globulin., Results: The findings revealed that during pH adjustment to neutral, the denatured soybean 11S globulin - resulting from alkaline (pH 10.0) or acidic (pH 3.0) treatments - experienced a refolding of its extended tertiary structure to varying extents. The particle size and the proportions of α-helix and β-sheet in the secondary structure aligned progressively with those of the natural-state protein. However, for the alkali-denatured 11S, the β-sheet content decreased upon adjustment to neutral, whereas an increase was observed for the acid-denatured 11S. In terms of functional properties, after alkaline denaturation, the foaming capacity (FC) and emulsifying activity index (EAI) of 11S increased by 1.4 and 1.2 times, respectively, in comparison with its native state. The solubility, foamability, and emulsifiability of the alkali-denatured 11S gradually diminished during renaturation but remained superior to those of the native state. Conversely, these properties showed an initial decline, followed by an increase during renaturation triggered by pH neutralization., Conclusions: This research contributes to the enhancement of protein functionality, offering a theoretical foundation for the development of functional soy protein products and expanding their potential applications. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Purpose: Pulsed volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) was proposed as an advanced treatment that combines the biological benefits of pulsed low dose rate (PLDR) and the dosimetric benefits of the intensity-modulated beams. In our conventional pulsed VMAT technique, a daily fractional dose of 200 cGy is delivered in 10 arcs with 3-minute intervals between the arcs. In this study, we are testing the feasibility of pulsed VMAT that omits the need to split into ten arcs and excludes any beam-off gaps.&#xD;Methods: The study was conducted using computed tomographic images of 24 patients previously treated at our institution with the conventional PLDR technique. Our newly installed Elekta machine has a low dose rate option on the order of 25MU/minute. PLDR requires an effective dose rate of 6.7 cGy/minute with attention being paid to the maximum dose received within any point within the target not to exceed 13 cGy/minute. The quality of treatment plans was judged based on dose-volume histograms, isodose distribution, dose conformality to the target, and target dose homogeneity. The dose delivery accuracy was assessed by measurements using the MatriXXEvolution 2D array system.&#xD;Results: All cases were normalized to cover 95% of the target volume with 100% of the prescription dose. The average conformity index was 1.03 ± 0.08 while the average homogeneity index was 1.05 ± 0.02. The maximum reported dose rate at any point within the target was 10.44 cGy/min. The mean dose rate for all pulsed VMAT plans was 6.88 ± 0.1cGy/min. All cases passed our gamma analysis with an average passing rate of 99.00% ± 0.48%.&#xD;Conclusion: The study showed the applicability of planning pulsed VMAT using Eclipse and its successful delivery on our Elekta linac. Pulsed VMAT using the machine's low dose rate mode is more efficient than our previous pulsed VMAT delivery.&#xD., (© 2024 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights, including for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies, are reserved.)

Hydrogels are materials made of crosslinked 3D networks of hydrophilic polymer chains that can absorb and retain significant amounts of water due to their hydrophilic structure without being dissolved. In relation to alternative biomaterials, hydrogels offer increased biocompatibility and biodegradability, giving them distinct advantages. Thus, hydrogel platforms are considered to have the potential for the development of biomedical applications. In this study, the main objective was the development of hybrid hydrogels to act as a drug delivery platform. These hydrogels were made from chitosan (CH) and type A gelatin (G), two natural polymers that provide a supportive environment for cellular attachment, viability, and growth, thanks to their unique properties. Particularly, the use of gelatins for drug delivery systems provides biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity, which are excellent properties to be used in the human body. However, gelatins have some limitations, such as thermal instability and poor mechanical properties. In order to improve those properties, the aim of this work was the development and characterization of hybrid hydrogels with different ratios of CH-G (100-0, 75-25, 50-50, 25-75, 0-100). Hydrogels were characterized through multiple techniques, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, rheological and microstructural studies, among others. Moreover, a model hydrophilic drug molecule (tetracycline) was incorporated to evaluate the feasibility of this platform to sustain the release of hydrophilic drugs, by being tested in a solution of Phosphate Buffer Solution at a pH of 7.2 and at 37 °C. The results revealed that the synergy between chitosan and type A gelatin improved the mechanical properties as well as the thermal stability of it, revealing that the best ratios of the biopolymers are 50-50 CH-G and 75-25 CH-G. Thereby, these systems were evaluated in a controlled release of tetracycline, showing a controlled drug delivery of 6 h and highlighting their promising application as a platform for controlled drug release.

Rice gluten, as the hydrophobic protein, exhibits restricted application value in hydrophilic food, which may be enhanced through interaction with soybean 11S globulin, characterized by favorable functional properties. This study aims at revealing their interaction mechanism via multi-spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation. The formation and structural change of rice glutelin-soybean 11S globulin complexes were detected using fluorescence, ultra-violet and circular dichroism spectra. The addition of 11S globulin increased the contents of α-helix, β-turn and random coil, but decreased β-sheet content, and the change in secondary structure was correlated with particle size. Moreover, exposure of hydrophobic groups and formation of disulfide bonds occurred in the complexes. Molecular dynamics simulation verified these experimental results through analyses of root mean square deviation and fluctuation, hydrogen bond, secondary structure, and binding free energy analysis. This study contributes to expounding the interaction mechanism of protein and protein from the molecular level., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The stems of Cynomorium songaricum are used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic and also used locally as a food material and livestock feed. It is known that some of the falvan-3-ol monomers and dimers that entered the milk of dairy sheep fed with C. songaricum stems are biotransformation products of the original flavan-3-ol polymers in C. songaricum stems. This study was performed to investigate the biotransformation process of the flavan-3-ols in dairy sheep and to evaluate the bioactivities. The results showed that procyanidin A2 and epicatechin could be released from the polymeric flavan-3-ols of C. songaricum through rumen microbial metabolism. On traumatic and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation models of Tg (mpx: EGFP) zebrafish larvae and LPS-induced liver injury models of Tg (fabp10a: DsRed) zebrafish larvae, the milk from sheep fed with C. songaricum stems showed stronger anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities compared to blank milk. The absorbed chemical constituents of C. songaricum stems and the metabolites also exhibited anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities, with the dimeric flavan-3-ols being more effective than the monomers. The milk, the absorbed chemical constituents of C. songaricum stems, and the metabolites alleviated the increased level of reactive oxygen species induced by LPS in zebrafish larvae. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study found that C. songaricum stems as livestock feed could produce milk that has a beneficial impact on consumer and livestock health in terms of anti-inflammation and hepatoprotection., (© 2024 Institute of Food Technologists.)

The term "Plastisphere" refers to the biofilm layer naturally formed by microorganisms attaching to plastic surfaces. This layer possesses the capability to adsorb persistent organic and inorganic pollutants, particularly trace metals, which are the focus of this research study. Immersion experiments were concurrently conducted in five locations spanning four European countries (France, Ireland, Spain, and Italy) utilising eight distinct polymers. These immersions, repeated every three months over a one-year period, aimed to evaluate the baseline bioaccumulation of 12 trace metals. The study underscores the intricate nature of metal bioaccumulation, influenced by both micro-scale factors (such as polymer composition) and macro-scale factors (including geographical site and seasonal variations). Villefranche Bay in France exhibited the lowest metals bioaccumulation, whereas Naples in Italy emerged as the site where bioaccumulation was often the highest for the considered metals. Environmental risk assessment was also conducted in the study. The lightweight nature of certain plastics allows them to be transported across significant distances in the ocean. Consequently, evaluating trace metal concentrations in the plastisphere is imperative for assessing potential environmental repercussions that plastics, along with their associated biota, may exert even in locations distant from their point of emission., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The previously undescribed lactone ring-opening enterolactone and its sulphate were purified along with the lactone counterparts from the urine of dairy sheep fed flaxseed cake. The structures were determined by NMR and MS analyses. The ring-opening and lactone forms underwent mutual transformation with changes in pH and milk could protect the lactone form. Enterolactone exhibited more effective anti-proliferation activity on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells than its ring-opening counterpart, while the ring-opening enterolactone demonstrated more effective anti-osteoporosis activity than the lactone form. The results indicated the potential for targeting biological functions through pH and medium manipulation.

Background: It is well known that hemp proteins have the disadvantages of poor solubility and poor emulsification. To improve these shortcomings, an alkali covalent cross-linking method was used to prepare hemp protein isolate-epigallocatechin-3-gallate biopolymer (HPI-EGCG) and the effects of different heat treatment conditions on the structure and emulsifying properties of the HPI-EGCG covalent complex were studied., Results: The secondary and tertiary structures, solubility, and emulsification ability of the HPI-EGCG complexes were evaluated using particle size, zeta potential, circular dichroism (CD), and fluorescence spectroscopy indices. The results showed that the absolute value of zeta potential of HPI-EGCG covalent complex was the largest, 18.6 mV, and the maximum binding amount of HPI to EGCG was 29.18 μmol g -1 . Under heat treatment at 25-35 °C, the α-helix content was reduced from 1.87% to 0%, and the β-helix content was reduced from 82.79% to 0% after the covalent binding of HPI and EGCG. The solubility and emulsification properties of the HPI-EGCG covalent complexes were improved significantly, and the emulsification activity index (EAI) and emulsion stability index (ESI) were increased by 2.77-fold and 1.21-fold, respectively., Conclusion: A new HPI-EGCG covalent complex was developed in this study to provide a theoretical basis for the application of HPI-EGCG in food industry. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Introduction: The PE-SARD score (syncope, anemia, renal dysfunction) was developed to predict the risk of major bleeding in the acute phase of pulmonary embolism (PE)., Methods: We analyzed data from 50,686 patients with acute PE included in the RIETE registry to externally validate the PE-SARD score. We calculated the overall reliability of the PE-SARD score, as well as discrimination and calibration for predicting the risk of major bleeding at 30 days. The performance of PE-SARD was compared to the BACS and PE-CH models., Results: During the first 30 days, 640 patients (1.3 %) had a major bleeding event. The incidence of major bleeding within 30 days was 0.6 % in the PE-SARD-defined low-risk group, 1.5 % in the intermediate-risk group, and 2.5 % in the high-risk group, for an OR of 2.22 (95 % CI, 2.02-2.43) for the intermediate-risk group (vs low-risk group), and 3.94 for the high-risk group (vs low-risk group). The corresponding sensitivity was 81.1 % (intermediate/high vs low risk), and specificity was 85.9 % (95 % CI, 85.8-86.1) (low/intermediate vs high risk). The applicability of PE-SARD was consistent across clinically relevant patient subgroups and over shorter time periods of follow-up (i.e., 3 and 7 days). The C-index was 0.654 and calibration was excellent. The PE-SARD bleeding score improved the major bleeding risk prediction compared with the BACS and PE-CH scores., Conclusions: The PE-SARD score identifies PE patients with a higher risk of bleeding, which could assist providers for potentially adjusting PE management, in a framework of shared decision-making with individual patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest RC, GB, PL, CR, AA and NM have no conflict of interest to declare. GP has received research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer Alliance, Bayer, Janssen, Alexion, Amgen and Boston Scientific Corporation, and consulting fees from Pfizer, Boston Scientific Corporation, Janssen, Prairie Education and Research Cooperative, NAMSA, and Amgen. MM has received research support from Sanofiand Rovi Laboratorios, and consulting fees from Sanofi and Bristol. DJ has served as a speaker for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi. LB reports grant from Bayer; personal fees and non-financial support from BMS-Pfizer; personal fees and non-financial support from Léo-Pharma; grants, personal fees and non-financial support from MSD; non-financial support from Johnson and Johnson; non-financial support from Opalia-Recordati; personal fees and non-financial support from Viatris; outside the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between dietary zinc intakes and skeletal muscle mass and strength in children and adolescents. A retrospective study was conducted using data on United States adolescents aged 8 to 19 years. Data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014 cycles. Subjects were divided into 3 groups based on the tertiles of dietary zinc intakes. The levels of appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by weight (ASM/Wt, %) and grip in subjects with the highest tertile were higher than those in subjects with the middle and lowest tertiles ( P < .05). Dietary zinc intakes were positively correlated with ASM/Wt ( r = .221, P < .001) and grip ( r = 0.169, P < .001). After a multivariate analysis, dietary zinc intakes were still significantly associated with ASM/Wt ( β = 0.059, P < .001) and grip ( β = 0.245, P < .001). The present study demonstrates that dietary zinc intakes were positively associated with skeletal muscle mass and strength in children and adolescents., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) and tracheloside (TCL) are the main lignan components of flaxseed cake and safflower seed cake, which are by-products of oil extraction. Both SDG and TCL are metabolized into mammalian lignan enterolactone (EL) with the involvement of intestinal bacteria. In this research, we evaluated the anti-osteoporosis effects of SDG and the in vivo metabolites EL and enterodiol (ED) prepared in our previous work, as well as the newly isolated chemical constituents from safflower seed, including TCL, the lactone ring opening product of TCL (OTCL) and two alkaloids on the alloxan-induced zebrafish model. All the compounds showed significant anti-osteoporosis effects at 80 µM, with p < 0.05 for EL and p < 0.001 for other compounds compared with the model. SDG and TCL showed the most significant and concentration-dependent effects, with p < 0.001 compared with model at 20 µM. The alkaloids, N-coumaroylserotonin glucoside and N-feruloylserotonin glucoside, also showed anti-osteoporosis at 20 µM with p < 0.01, whereas EL, ED, and OTCL showed no significant effects. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that SDG and TCL upregulated the expression of osteogenic genes Runx2, SP7, OPG, Col1a1a, Alp, ON, OPN, and OCN in alloxan-treated zebrafish. The in vivo metabolite of lignans, EL, showed significant anti-inflammatory effect (p < 0.01) at 20 µM, which might also help to combat osteoporosis and other complications caused by excessive immune response in the body. The results provided scientific data for using the oil extraction by-products as sources of anti-osteoporosis compounds. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study found that lignans in flaxseed cake and safflower seed cake exhibited anti-osteoporosis effects by upregulating the expression of osteogenic genes, making the oil extraction by-products sources of anti-osteoporosis compounds., (© 2023 Institute of Food Technologists.)

Aims: Postgraduate and medical students are at risk of psychological distress and burnout, which can cause significant functional and occupational impairment. We aimed to report subjective wellbeing, psychological distress and burnout in postgraduate and medical students in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and identify any associations between participant and course information and outcome measures including exposure to major earthquakes in 2010/2011 and the 2019 terrorist attack., Methods: A self-report online survey was completed by 140 students between November 2019 and March 2020. Life satisfaction, psychological distress and burnout were primary outcomes. Data were analysed using univariate and multivariable analysis., Results: High levels of psychological distress were present in both student groups. Burnout was reported by 78% of respondents. There were no significant associations found between exposure to the Christchurch earthquakes or terrorist attack with primary outcomes. Personality factors, resilience and perceived support and success were weakly associated with wellbeing, distress and burnout., Conclusions: Postgraduates and medical students reported high levels of psychological distress and burnout. The earthquakes and terrorist attack do not appear to be associated with negative effects in these cohorts. Personality and resilience characteristics may assist in predicting students at risk of morbidity and evaluating potentially relevant interventions., Competing Interests: Nil. No funding was received for this study., (© PMA.)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the height-corrected definition of metabolic syndrome(MetS) in adolescents. A retrospective study was conducted on US adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Waist-to-height ratio and blood pressure-to-height ratio were substituted for waist circumference and blood pressure when defining MetS in adolescents. The proportions of insulin resistance of adolescents with 1 (30.1%), 2 (50.7%), and ≥3 components (77.8%) of MetS were 2.578 ( P < .001), 6.882 ( P < .001), and 23.992 ( P < .001) times than the proportion of adolescents without the component of MetS (14.2%). The proportions of low-grade inflammation of adolescents with 1 (3.4%), 2 (5.3%), and ≥3 components (14.4%) of MetS were 2.050 ( P = .106), 3.699 ( P = .005), and 10.664 ( P < .001) times than the proportion of adolescents without the component of MetS (1.7%). This study demonstrates that height-corrected definition of MetS is a simple and accurate method for identifying insulin resistance and low-grade inflammation in adolescents., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Aim: To access the metabolic changes caused by a chalcone derivative ( LabMol-75 ) through a proteomic approach. Methods: Proteomic analysis was performed after 9 h of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis yeast ( Pb18 ) cell incubation with the LabMol-75 at MIC. The proteomic findings were validated through in vitro and in silico assays. Results: Exposure to the compound led to the downregulation of proteins associated with glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, β-oxidation, the citrate cycle and the electron transport chain. Conclusion: LabMol-75 caused an energetic imbalance in the fungus metabolism and deep oxidative stress. Additionally, the in silico molecular docking approach pointed to this molecule as a putative competitive inhibitor of DHPS.

Background: The appropriate age at which to perform reverse shoulder arthroplasty is controversial. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty between younger and older patients., Methods: Patients who underwent primary reverse shoulder arthroplasty between January 2000 and December 2019 were identified from New Zealand Joint Registry records. Patients were stratified into two cohorts according to age at the time of surgery: < 55 years and ≥ 55 years. These two groups were then compared with regard to baseline characteristics, indications for surgery, revision rates, and patient-reported outcomes using the Oxford Shoulder Score and American Shoulder and Elbow Score (ASES)., Results: A total of 5518 primary reverse shoulder arthroplasty cases were identified, with 75 patients < 55 years at the time of surgery (range: 34-54 years). The mean duration of follow-up was 2.36 years (range: 0.11-13.37 years) in the younger cohort and 3.10 years (range: 0.01-16.22 years) in the older patient cohort. Indications for surgery differed significantly between the two groups, with younger patients having higher rates of inflammatory arthritis ( p  < 0.001), posttraumatic arthritis ( p  < 0.001), and avascular necrosis ( p  = 0.049). The younger cohort had an inferior 6-month postoperative Oxford Shoulder Score compared to the older cohort (mean: 28.5 [younger cohort] vs. 35.7 [older cohort]; p  < 0.001). There was no significant difference in revision rate between the younger and older patient cohorts during the study period (1.56 [<55 years] vs. 0.74 [≥55 years] revisions per 100 component-years; p  = 0.332)., Conclusion: Our early results suggest that younger patients undergoing reverse shoulder arthroplasty demonstrate high implant retention rates, comparable to older patients. Longer-term patient-reported outcomes in younger patients are required to guide appropriate patient selection for reverse shoulder arthroplasty., Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective case-control study., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication o this article., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

This study aimed to hydrolyze soy isolate protein (SPI) using five enzymes (alcalase, pepsin, trypsin, papain, and bromelain) in order to obtain five enzymatic hydrolysates and to elucidate the effect of enzymes on structural and biological activities of the resulting hydrolysates. The antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of the soy protein isolate hydrolysates (SPIEHs) were evaluated through in silico analysis, revealing that the alcalase hydrolysate exhibited the highest potential, followed by the papain and bromelain hydrolysates. Subsequently, the degree of hydrolysis (DH), molecular weight distribution (MWD), amino acid composition, structure, antioxidant activities, and hypoglycemic activity in vitro of SPIEHs were analyzed. After enzymatic treatment, the particle size, polymer dispersity index (PDI), ζ-potentials, β-sheet content and α-helix content of SPIEHs was decreased, and the maximum emission wavelength of all SPIEHs exhibited red-shifted, which all suggesting the structure of SPIEHs was unfolded. More total amino acids (TAAs), aromatic amino acids (AAAs), and hydrophobic amino acids (HAAs) were found in alcalase hydrolysate. For 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, metal ion chelating activity, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and α-amylase inhibitory activity, alcalase hydrolysate had the lowest IC 50 ; alcalase hydrolysate and papain hydrolysate had the lowest IC 50 for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Physiological activity of SPIEHs was evaluated thoroughly by 5-Axe cobweb charts, and the results revealed that alcalase hydrolysate exhibited the greatest biological activities., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study used a network meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of different surgical approaches in patients with hemorrhoids., Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of science, and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials on patients with hemorrhoids treated by different surgical procedures. The search was conducted until January 15, 2023. Two investigators independently screened the resulting literature, extracted information, evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies, and performed a network meta-analysis., Result: A total of 23 randomized controlled studies were included and involved 3573 patients and 10 interventions, namely L (Ligasure), M-M (Milligan-Morgan), F (Ferguson), H (Harmonic), OH (open Harmonic), CH (closed Harmonic), PPH (procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids), TST (tissue selecting technique), T-S (TST STARE+; tissue selection therapy stapled transanal rectal resection plus), and STARR (stapled transanal rectal resection). Network meta-analysis results showed that L has the shortest mean operating time and STARR has the longest mean operating time, F and H have the longest length of hospitalization and T-S has the shortest length of hospitalization, PPH has the most intraoperative blood loss and L has the least intraoperative blood loss, TST has the shortest time to first defecation and M-M has the longest time to first defecation, STARR had the least recurrence and PPH had the most recurrence, PPH had the least anal stenosis and L had the most anal stenosis, and F had the least postoperative pain after 24 h and PPH had the most postoperative pain after 24 h., Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that L is best at reducing mean operative time and intraoperative bleeding, T-S is best at reducing mean length of stay, TST has the shortest time to first defecation, STARR is best at reducing recurrence rates, PPH is best at reducing postoperative anal stricture, and F is best at reducing postoperative pain after 24 h., (© 2023. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: This study used enzymatic and Ca 2+ cross-linking methods to prepare edible soy protein isolate (SPI) and sodium alginate (SA) interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels to overcome the disadvantages of traditional interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogels, such as poor performance, high toxicity, and inedibility. The influence of changes in SPI and SA mass ratio on the performance of SPI-SA IPN hydrogels was investigated., Results: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the structure of the hydrogels. Texture profile analysis (TPA), rheological properties, swelling rate, and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) were used to evaluate physical and chemical properties and safety. The results showed that, compared with SPI hydrogel, IPN hydrogels had better gel properties and structural stability. As the mass ratio of SPI-SA IPN changed from 1:0.2 to 1:1, the gel network structure of hydrogels also tended to be dense and uniform. The water retention and mechanical properties of these hydrogels, such as storage modulus (G'), loss modulus (G"), and gel hardness increased significantly and were greater than those of the SPI hydrogel. Cytotoxicity tests were also performed. The biocompatibility of these hydrogels was good., Conclusions: This study proposes a new method to prepare food-grade IPN hydrogels with mechanical properties of SPI and SA, which may have strong potential for the development of new foods. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.)

We investigated understory fuel loads of Quercus mongolica natural secondary forests in Hebei Province, China. We analyzed the effects of stand factors, topographic factors, and ground cover factors on the quantity and composition of fuel, established the dynamic models of understory fuel loads, and proposed management measures. The results showed that the understory total fuel load in Q. mongolica natural secondary forests was 11.68 t·hm -2 , which exceeded the forest fire potential threshold (10 t·hm -2 ). The understory dead fuel load was mainly humus, and the understory living fuel load was mainly shrubs. The 1 h time-lag fuel load increased significantly with increasing canopy density, stand density, stand age, and litter thickness. The 10 h time-lag fuel load increased signi-ficantly with increasing stand density, average tree height, and litter thickness. Humus load decreased significantly with increasing altitude and increased significantly with increasing humus thickness. Herb load increased significantly with increasing sunny slope orientation and herbal coverage. Shrub load increased significantly with increasing slope degree, shrub coverage, and humus thickness. Understory total fuel load decreased significantly with increasing altitude, and increased significantly with increasing stand density, humus thickness, and litter thickness. The results of stepwise regression analysis indicated that stand density, humus thickness, and altitude could better predict the understory total fuel load ( R adj 2 =0.775). Therefore, more attention should be paid on the control of stand density of Q. mongolica natural secondary forest in Hebei Province. Cleaning of litters and humus on the ground would help prevent forest fires scientifically and effectively.

This study investigated the effects of extrusion on the physical properties of glutinous rice and addressed the challenges associated with its hardened texture and reduced taste in glutinous rice products by adding extruded glutinous rice to assess their anti-retrogradation effect compared with different improvers. Glutinous rice flour with different gelatinization degrees was obtained by changing the initial moisture content of glutinous rice grains before extrusion, and their physicochemical properties and the effect of adding them to rice products were analyzed. Results showed that with the increase in moisture content, the viscosity, water absorption index of extruded glutinous rice flour, and product viscosity increased, while the gelatinization degree, water solubility index, and product elasticity decreased, and the hardness of the rice products showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. Twenty percent moisture content of glutinous rice products showed the best properties mentioned above. The effects of adding different improvers on retrogradation degree, quality characteristics, microstructure, and moisture migration of glutinous rice products were analyzed by texture profile analysis, sensory evaluation, scanning electron microscopy, and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance. It was found that soybean polysaccharides, xanthan gum, and extruded glutinous rice flour had better anti-retrogradation effects, while colloid and soybean polysaccharides provided a tighter and more three-dimensional internal structure to the rice products. Our study showed that extruded glutinous rice flour had good anti-retrogradation properties and little effect on flavor and taste, but it would increase the roughness and viscosity of the products, which had advantages and disadvantages compared with other improvers., (© 2023 Institute of Food Technologists.)

Objective: To identify the predictors of pacing-induced cardiomyopathy (PICM) and illustrate the safety and feasibility of conduction system pacing (CSP) upgrade on patients with long-term persistent atrial fibrillation (AF)., Methods: All patients with long-term persistent AF and normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥50% were consecutively enrolled from January 2008 to December 2017, and all the patients with atrioventricular block (AVB) and high right ventricular pacing (RVP) percentage of at least 40%. The predictors of PICM were identified, and patients with PICM were followed up for at least 1 year regardless of CSP upgrade. Cardiac performances and lead outcomes were investigated in all patients before and after CSP upgrade., Results: The present study included 139 patients, out of which 37 (26.62%) developed PICM, resulting in a significant decrease in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from 56.11 ± 2.56% to 38.10 ± 5.81% (p< .01). The median duration for the development of PICM was 5.43 years. Lower LVEF (≤52.50%), longer paced QRS duration (≥175 ms), and higher RVP percentage (≥96.80%) were identified as independent predictors of PICM. Furthermore, the morbidity of PICM progressively increased with an increased number of predictors. The paced QRS duration (183.90 ± 22.34 ms vs. 136.57 ± 20.71 ms, p < .01), LVEF (39.35 ± 2.71% vs. 47.50 ± 7.43%, p < .01), and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) (55.53 ± 5.67 mm vs. 53.20 ± 5.78 mm, p = .03) improved significantly on patients accepting CSP upgrade. CSP responses and complete reverse remodeling (LVEF ≥50% and LVEDD < 50 mm) were detected in 80.95% (17/21) and 42.9% (9/21) of patients. The pacing threshold (1.52 ± 0.78 V/0.4 ms vs. 1.27 ± 0.59 V/0.4 ms, p = .16) was stable after follow-up., Conclusion: PICM is very common in patients with long-term persistent AF, and CSP upgrade was favorable for better cardiac performance in this patient population., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The mammalian cochlear epithelium undergoes substantial remodeling and maturation before the onset of hearing. However, very little is known about the transcriptional network governing cochlear late-stage maturation and particularly the differentiation of its lateral nonsensory region. Here, we establish ZBTB20 as an essential transcription factor required for cochlear terminal differentiation and maturation and hearing. ZBTB20 is abundantly expressed in the developing and mature cochlear nonsensory epithelial cells, with transient expression in immature hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons. Otocyst-specific deletion of Zbtb20 causes profound deafness with reduced endolymph potential in mice. The subtypes of cochlear epithelial cells are normally generated, but their postnatal development is arrested in the absence of ZBTB20, as manifested by an immature appearance of the organ of Corti, malformation of tectorial membrane (TM), a flattened spiral prominence (SP), and a lack of identifiable Boettcher cells. Furthermore, these defects are related with a failure in the terminal differentiation of the nonsensory epithelium covering the outer border Claudius cells, outer sulcus root cells, and SP epithelial cells. Transcriptome analysis shows that ZBTB20 regulates genes encoding for TM proteins in the greater epithelial ridge, and those preferentially expressed in root cells and SP epithelium. Our results point to ZBTB20 as an essential regulator for postnatal cochlear maturation and particularly for the terminal differentiation of cochlear lateral nonsensory domain.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis is one of the most common metabolic diseases in old women, and supplementing estrogen through bioactive substances is one of the important ways to improve menopausal syndrome. Some studies have confirmed that soybean isoflavone has estrogenic activity, and the main active component of soybean isoflavones is isoflavone aglycones. However, few studies have investigated the improvement effect of high-purity soy isoflavone aglycones on postmenopausal osteoporosis. Thus, the effect of different doses of high-purity soybeans isoflavone aglycone on the ovariectomized female osteoporosis rat model was evaluated by oral gavage. The rats were divided into seven experimental groups including SHAM, OVX, EE, SIHP, AFDP-L, AFDP-M, and AFDP-H, which was administered for 60 days from 30 days after ovariectomy. We collected blood from the abdominal aorta of rats on the 30th, 60th, and 90th days respectively, analyzed its serum biochemistry, and took out the femur for micro-CT imaging and bone microstructure parameter analysis. Results showed that the intervention effect of AFDP-H group on osteoporosis rats at 60 and 90 days was similar to that of EE group, and superior to the OVX group, SIHP group, AFDP-L group, AFDP-M group. The AFDP-H group inhibited the decrease in serum bone markers, bone density, trabeculae quantity, trabeculae thickness, and bone volume fraction, and increased the trabecular separation caused by ovariectomy, thereby significantly improving bone microstructure. It also prevented continuous weight gain and increased cholesterol levels in female rats. This study provided theoretical to application of soybean isoflavone aglycone in the intervention of osteoporosis. and confirmed that could replace chemical synthetic estrogen drugs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Li, Yang, Ma, Li, Bian, Fu, Ren, Wang, Shi and Zhang.)

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), one of the most important legume crops, uses atmospheric nitrogen through symbiosis with soil rhizobia, reducing the need for nitrogen fertilization. However, this legume is particularly sensitive to drought conditions, prevalent in arid regions where this crop is cultured. Therefore, studying the response to drought is important to sustain crop productivity. We have used integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis to understand the molecular responses to water deficit in a marker-class common bean accession cultivated under N2 fixation or fertilized with nitrate (NO3-). RNA-seq revealed more transcriptional changes in the plants fertilized with NO3- than in the N2-fixing plants. However, changes in N2-fixing plants were more associated with drought tolerance than in those fertilized with NO3-. N2-fixing plants accumulated more ureides in response to drought, and GC/MS and LC/MS analysis of primary and secondary metabolite profiles revealed that N2-fixing plants also had higher levels of abscisic acid, proline, raffinose, amino acids, sphingolipids, and triacylglycerols than those fertilized with NO3-. Moreover, plants grown under nitrogen fixation recovered from drought better than plants fertilized with NO3-. Altogether we show that common bean plants grown under symbiotic nitrogen fixation were more protected against drought than the plants fertilized with nitrate., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of CSP in patients with a high percentage of ventricular pacing and heart failure with HFmrEF., Methods: Patients who underwent CSP for HFmrEF and ventricular pacing >40% were consecutively enrolled from January 2018 to May 2021. All participants were followed up at least 12 months. Clinical data including cardiac performance and lead outcomes were compared before and after the procedure. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measured using the biplane Simpson's method. HFmrEF was defined as heart failure with the LVEF ranging from 41%-49%., Results: CSP was successfully performed in 64 cases (96.97%), which included 16 cases of left bundle branch pacing (LBBP) and 48 cases of His bundle pacing (HBP). After a mean of 23.12 ± 8.17 months follow-up, NYHA classification ( P  < 0.001), LVEF (42.45 ± 1.84% vs. 49.97 ± 3.57%, P  < 0.001) and left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) (55.59 ± 6.17 mm vs. 51.66 ± 3.48 mm, P  < 0.001) improved significantly. During follow-up, more than half (39/64,60.9%) of patients returned to normal LVEF and LVEDD with complete reverse remodeling. The pacing threshold in LBBP was lower (0.90 ± 0.27 V@0.4 ms vs. 1.61 ± 0.71 V@0.4 ms, P  < 0.001) than that in HBP. No perforation, electrode dislodging, thrombosis or infection was observed during follow-up., Conclusions: CSP could improve the clinical outcomes in patients with HFmrEF and a high percentage of ventricular pacing. LBBP might be a better choice because of its feasibility and safety, especially in patients with infranodal atrioventricular block., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Zhang, Zhao, Yang, Ma, Ma, Zhao, Xia, Gao, and Dong.)

Fructose intolerance in mammals is caused by defects in fructose absorption and metabolism. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase 1 (FBP1) is a key enzyme in gluconeogenesis, and its deficiency results in hypoglycemia as well as intolerance to fructose. However, the mechanism about fructose intolerance caused by FBP1 deficiency has not been fully elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that hepatic but not intestinal FBP1 is required for fructose metabolism and tolerance. We generated inducible knockout mouse models specifically lacking FBP1 in adult intestine or liver. Intestine-specific deletion of Fbp1 in adult mice does not compromise fructose tolerance, as evidenced by no significant body weight loss, food intake reduction, or morphological changes of the small intestine during 4 weeks of exposure to a high-fructose diet. By contrast, liver-specific deletion of Fbp1 in adult mice leads to fructose intolerance, as manifested by substantial weight loss, hepatomegaly, and liver injury after exposure to a high-fructose diet. Notably, the fructose metabolite fructose-1-phosphate is accumulated in FBP1-deficient liver after fructose challenge, which indicates a defect of fructolysis, probably due to competitive inhibition by fructose-1,6-bisphosphate and may account for the fructose intolerance. In conclusion, these data have clarified the essential role of hepatic but not intestinal FBP1 in fructose metabolism and tolerance., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hypertriglyceridemic waist (HW) phenotype,hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio (HWHtR) phenotype and abnormal glucose metabolism in adolescents., Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on 2626 adolescents aged 12-19 years in United States. Abnormal glucose metabolism was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥ 5.6 mmol/L or oral glucose tolerance test 2-h plasma glucose ≥ 7.8 mmol/L or glycohemoglobin A1c ≥ 5.7% or a previous diagnosis of diabetes. The HW phenotype was defined as triglyceride(TG) concentrations ≥ 1.47 mmol/L and waist circumference (WC) ≥ 90th percentile. The HWHtR phenotype was defined as TG concentrations ≥ 1.47 mmol/L and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) ≥ 0.5., Results: 621(23.6%) adolescents had abnormal glucose metabolism. The prevalences of abnormal glucose metabolism were 22.7% and 40.6% in adolescents without and with HW phenotype. The prevalences of abnormal glucose metabolism were 22.4% and 38.6% in adolescents without and with HWHtR phenotype. Adolescents with HWHtR phenotype were more likely to have abnormal glucose metabolism (OR = 1.548, P = 0.010). The levels of homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance and β cell fuction index were higher in adolescents with HWHtR phenotype than in adolescents without HWHtR phenotype (P < 0.001)., Conclusion: The study demonstrates that HWHtR phenotype was closely associated with an increased risk of abnormal glucose metabolism in adolescents. Adolescents with HWHtR phenotype had worsen insulin resistance and increased insulin secretion as a result of compensation., Impact Statement: The study provided a simple method, HWHtR phenotype, for evaluating the status of glucose metabolism in adolescents., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the in vitro antibacterial activity of Lactobacillus acidophilus AD125 against Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) O157:H7 and its probiotic properties: gastrointestinal tolerance, surface hydrophobicity, autoaggregation, coaggregation, and adhesion to Caco-2 cells. In addition, the action mode of the strain's antagonism against adhesion of E. coli O157:H7 to Caco-2 cells was analyzed, and related substances were also determined. Results showed that L. acidophilus AD125 had stronger antibacterial activity (inhibition zone of 20.47 ± 0.43 for AD125 culture solution and 14.55 ± 1.12 for cell-free supernatant) against E. coli O157:H7 than other Lactobacillus spp. Also, this strain had higher gastrointestinal tolerance, autoaggregation percentage (26.51 ± 0.71%), and coaggregation percentage (23.97 ± 0.44%) with E. coli O157:H7. High surface hydrophobicity of toluene and xylene (83.59 ± 2.54% and 93.45 ± 1.24%) was also observed. Bacterial adhesion counts were 1176.54 100 per cells, indicating good adhesion to Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, the exclusion, competition, and antibacterial effect of AD125 may have driven its antagonism against E. coli O157:H7 adhesion. Finally, surface-layer proteins, extracellular polysaccharides, and thermosensitive substances all participated in the antagonism against E. coli O157:H7, with surface-layer proteins the main related substances. These results show that Lactobacillus acidophilus AD125 is promising for inhibiting E. coli O157:H7 and preventing and treating intestinal diseases induced by E. coli O157:H7.

Childhood and puberty are important period for the skeleton grows. Fat mass, especially visceral adipose tissue, was negatively correlated with areal bone mineral density in children and adolescents. The present study suggests that fat mass, especially visceral adipose tissue, has a slightly negative association with bone development in children and adolescents., Purpose: This study observed the relationship between fat mass and distribution, and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) in children and adolescents., Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on US children and adolescents aged 8-19 years. Whole body (less head) aBMD was evaluated. Height (Ht) adjusted Z-scores for aBMD were calculated., Results: After controlling for age, gender, race, and lean body mass index (LBMI) Z-score, there were significant negative associations between fat mass index (FMI) Z-score and aBMD Ht-Z-adjusted Z-score (β =  - 0.272, P < 0.001, R 2  = 0.033). In the linear regression models with aBMD Ht-Z-adjusted Z-score as the dependent variable, the regression coefficients of android fat mass were - 0.241 (P < 0.05, R 2  = 0.002), - 0.473 (P < 0.001, R 2  = 0.036), and - 0.474 (P < 0.001, R 2  = 0.038) for healthy weight, overweight, and obesity group, respectively. The regression coefficients of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass were - 0.218 (P > 0.05, R 2  = 0.001), - 2.025 (P < 0.001, R 2  = 0.044), and - 1.826 (P < 0.001, R 2  = 0.039), and the regression coefficients of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) mass were - 0.467 (P < 0.001, R 2  = 0.004), - 0.339 (P < 0.01, R 2  = 0.024), and - 0.347 (P < 0.001, R 2  = 0.018) for healthy weight, overweight, and obesity group, respectively., Conclusions: The present study suggests that fat mass has a slightly negative association with bone development in children and adolescents. Trunk fat accumulation, especially visceral adipose tissue, was correlated with the lower level of aBMD. This association was obvious in overweight and obese children., (© 2023. International Osteoporosis Foundation and Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation.)

Background: Quinoa is a good gluten-free resource for food processing, especially bread making, and can improve and prevent the development of complications associated with celiac disease (CD). However, lack of gluten affects quinoa bread quality. Previous research showed that soy protein isolate (SPI) could improve gluten-free bread quality to some extent. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of SPI on the physical properties of quinoa dough and gluten-free bread quality characteristics., Results: Results showed that, with appropriate SPI substitution, the farinograph properties of quinoa flour significantly improved (P < 0.05). The sample with 8% SPI substitution showed a better development time (DT, 3.30 ± 0.20 min), stability time (ST, 8.80 ± 0.10 min) and softening degree (SD, 8.80 ± 0.10 FU), which were close to those of wheat flour, although more water absorption (WA, 76.40 ± 2.10%) was needed than for wheat flour (66.30 ± 3.10%). The extensograph properties of quinoa flour also significantly improved after 8% SPI substitution (P < 0.05). Furthermore, SPI substitution increased G' moduli of quinoa dough and decreased tan δ to some extent, providing better rheological properties closer to those of wheat dough. SPI substitution also improved the quality and texture of quinoa bread and reduced the gap with wheat bread. When SPI substitution was 8%, the specific volume, hardness and springiness of quinoa bread were 2.29 ± 0.05 mL g -1 , 1496.47 ± 85.21 g and 0.71 ± 0.03%, respectively., Conclusion: These results suggested that SPI substitution would be an effective way to develop higher-quality gluten-free bread. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.)