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Objective This research explores the performance of ChatGPT, compared to human doctors, in bilingual, Mandarin Chinese and English, medical specialty exam in Nuclear Medicine in Taiwan. Methods The study employed generative pre-trained transformer (GPT-4) and integrated chain-of-thoughts (COT) method to enhance performance by triggering and explaining the thinking process to answer the question in a coherent and logical manner. Questions from the Taiwanese Nuclear Medicine Specialty Exam served as the basis for testing. The research analyzed the correctness of AI responses in different sections of the exam and explored the influence of question length and language proportion on accuracy. Results AI, especially ChatGPT with COT, exhibited exceptional capabilities in theoretical knowledge, clinical medicine, and handling integrated questions, often surpassing, or matching human doctor performance. However, AI struggled with questions related to medical regulations. The analysis of question length showed that questions within the 109–163 words range yielded the highest accuracy. Moreover, an increase in the proportion of English words in questions improved both AI and human accuracy. Conclusions This research highlights the potential and challenges of AI in the medical field. ChatGPT demonstrates significant competence in various aspects of medical knowledge. However, areas like medical regulations require improvement. The study also suggests that AI may help in evaluating exam question difficulty and maintaining fairness in examinations. These findings shed light on AI role in the medical field, with potential applications in healthcare education, exam preparation, and multilingual environments. Ongoing AI advancements are expected to further enhance AI utility in the medical domain.

Prolamins, proteins derived from plants, have extensive applications in pharmaceutics and food science. Jiuzao is a byproduct of the Baijiu brewing industry, and is a great source of prolamin. Despite its importance, knowledge regarding the extraction techniques and the properties of prolamin derived from Baijiu Jiuzao (PBJ) remains limited. Reverse micelles (RMs) extraction offers an efficient and cost-effective method for purifying proteins. In the present study, prolamin was extracted from Baijiu Jiuzao using RMs extraction and subsequently characterized in terms of its secondary structure, morphology, and particle size distribution. Our findings indicate that the purified prolamin extracted using further RMs extraction possessed higher α-helix content (+13.25%), forming a large-scale protein network, and narrower particle size distributions compared to the crude prolamin obtained by NaOH-ethanol method. This research suggests that RMs extraction has potential applications in extracting prolamin from brewing industry byproducts, offering an environmentally friendly approach to Baijiu Jiuzao recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of different variable temperatures treatments on the post-ripening physiology of 'Xuxiang'kiwi fruit were investigated and the application of variable temperatures ripening technology in kiwi fruit was explored. The'Xuxiang'kiwi fruit stored in cold storage at 0 C for 0 d (S1) and 30 d (S2) were respectively used as test materials, and three methods were adopted to accelerate ripening, namely treatment 1 (5 C for 24 h→10 C for 24 h→15 C to ready-to-eat), treatment 2 (15 C for 24 h→25 C for 24 h→15 C to ready-to-eat), treatment 3 (15 C to ready-to-eat at constant temperature), then the fruit hardness, soluble solid contents, titratable acid contents, respiratory intensity, ethylene release rates, VC contents and other physiological indicators were measured regularly until the fruits reached the ready-to-eat state. Subsequently, the changes of weight loss rates and decay rates during the shelf life (room temperature and 4 ) under different treatments of kiwi fruit were investigated. The results showed that the qualities of'Xuxiang'kiwi fruit in different ripeness treatment groups were significantly different during the postripening period. When changing temperatures accelerating ripening treatment was applied to S1'Xuxiang'kiwi fruit, the fruits of treatment 2 had the shortest ripening time and reached the ready-to-eat state at 8 d, which was 2 d and 4 d earlier than that of treatment 3 and treatment 1, respectively. Besides, during the ripening period, the fruits hardness and titrable acid contents of treatment 2 had the fastest decline, while soluble solid contents increased significantly faster than that of treatment 1 and treatment 3. The peaks of respiration and ethylene of treatment 2 were advanced, but the changes of VC contents and fruits weight loss rates during shelf life were not significantly different from those in other treatment groups. While when changing temperatures accelerating ripening treatment was applied to S2'Xux iang'kiwi fruit, the ripening time of kiwi fruit in group S2 was all 2 d shorter than that in group S1, and the ripening time in treatment 2 was also the shortest (6 d). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of stevioside (STE) on pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and the potential mechanisms. Methods: In this study, a mouse model of PF was established by a single intratracheal injection of bleomycin (BLM, 3 mg/kg). The experiment consisted of four groups: control group, BLM group, and STE treatment groups (STE 50 and 100 mg/kg). ELISA and biochemical tests were conducted to determine the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, NO, hydroxyproline (HYP), SOD, GSH, and MDA. Histopathological changes and collagen deposition in lung tissues were observed by HE and Masson staining. Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the levels of collagen I-, collagen III-, TGF-β1- and p-Smad2/3-positive cells. Western blot analysis was used to measure the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, including α-SMA, vimentin, E-cadherin, and ZO-1, as well as proteins related to the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway, nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway, and TGF-β1/Smad2/3 pathway in lung tissues. Results: STE significantly alleviated BLM-induced body weight loss and lung injury in mice, decreased HYP levels, and reduced the levels of collagen I- and collagen III-positive cells, thereby decreasing extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Moreover, STE markedly improved oxidative stress (MDA levels were decreased, while SOD and GSH activity were enhanced), the inflammatory response (the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and NO were reduced), and EMT (the expression of α-SMA and vimentin was downregulated, and the expression of E-cadherin and ZO-1 was upregulated). Further mechanistic analysis revealed that STE could activate the Nrf2 pathway and inhibit the NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad2/3 pathways. Conclusion: STE may alleviate oxidative stress by activating the Nrf2 pathway, suppress the inflammatory response by downregulating the NF-κB pathway, and inhibit EMT progression by blocking the TGF-β1/Smad2/3 pathway, thereby improving BLM-induced PF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]