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Objective: In order to study the effect of bacteria from special cured meat on the quality of fermented beef. Methods: Staphylococcus equi from Hunan cured meat and Leuconostoc mesenteric from Xinyang cured meat were used as fermentation strains to produce fermented beef. The changes of water content, water activity, pH, protein contents, texture and sensory evaluation of fermented beef were analyzed, compared with the local specialty products and blank groups without starter. Results: The two fermented meats inoculated with Pichia diba and Baryces hensonensis had the lower nitrosamine contents and the higher elasticity than the local specialty ones (P0.05). The hardness of fermented products from S. equi was significantly lower than other ones, and which had the highest total acceptability (P0.05). Conclusion: The both bacterias had differences on the qualities and safety characteristics of fermented beef, and they could be used as starters to produce fermented products. In the future, it is possible to develop the compound starters with two strains of bacteria to comprehensively improve product quality and enhance product safety.

Abstract Background Individuals with schizophrenia require prolonged antipsychotic medication treatment. But more than 50% of individuals with schizophrenia experience adverse medication experiences during their antipsychotic treatments. Such individuals often adjust or discontinue medication, leading to disease relapse and impaired social functioning. Psychiatric nurses should pay close attention to the medication experiences of individuals with schizophrenia. This research explore the relationship between medication burden and medication experience, as well as the mediating effect of medication belief in stable patients with schizophrenia. Methods A convenience sample of hospitalized stable patients with schizophrenia were selected from Daqing Third Hospital and Baiyupao Hospital from September 2023 to December 2023. A survey was conducted with them using a questionnaire consisting of general information questionnaire, The Subjective Well-being Under Neuroleptic Treatment Scale(SWN), The Living with Medicines Questionnaire(LMQ), Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-Specific (BMQ-Specific). Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between LMQ, BMQ-Specific and SWN scores, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of medication experience in patients with schizophrenia. AMOS 24.0 was used to construct the structural equation modeling(SEM), and the mediation effect of the SEM was tested using Bootstrap method. Results According to the sample size calculation requirements of structural equation model, a total of 300 samples were required in this study, and 400 effective questionnaires were actually collected in this study, which met the sample size requirements for constructing structural equation models. Bootstrap test showed that the mediation effect was significant. The total effect of medication burden on medication experience was significant (Z=-12.146, 95%CI (-0.577, -0.417), P

Antioxidant strains were screened from 36 lactic acid bacteria isolated from longevity elderly faces, and the oxidative damage model of small intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6) was established by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to investigate the effects of the screened strains on the oxidative stress of IEC-6 cells. The results showed that that strains of HN-04, HN-05 and HN-15 had higher antioxidant capacity in vitro, and the scavenging capacity of DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical and superoxide anion radical of the three strains were 52.18%~57.16%, 47.44%~52.38% and 37.11%~43.31%. The adhesion rates of the strains to IEC-6 cells were 6.77%, 6.92% and 5.82%, respectively. With the intervention effects of the stains, the survival rate of IEC-6 cells was increased by 5.31%~11.19%, and the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in cells were increased by 12.03%~32.39%, 21.20%~47.42%, 36.10%~87.14% and 23.55%~48.69%, respectively. In addition, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in oxidative damaged IEC-6 cells were decreased by 20.98%~48.80% under the treatment with the strains. In summary, the three strains screened in this research could reduce oxidative stress injury of IEC-6 cells, and could be used as natural antioxidants in the development of functional foods.

ABSTRACT: Low-fat, healthy yogurt is becoming increasingly favored by consumers. In the present study, whey protein emulsion gel microparticles were used to improve the quality of low-fat yogurt, and the effects of vegetable oil emulsion gel as a fat substitute on the qualities of low-fat yogurt were investigated, expecting to obtain healthier and even more excellent quality low-fat yogurt by applying a new method. First, emulsion gel microparticles were prepared, and then particle size distribution of emulsion gel and water holding capacity (WHC), textural properties, rheological properties, microstructure, storage stability, and sensory evaluation of yogurt were carried out. The results showed that yogurt with emulsion gel had significantly superior qualities than yogurt made with skim milk powder, with better WHC, textural properties, rheological properties, and storage stability. The average particle size of whey protein-vegetable oil emulsion gel microparticles was significantly larger than that of whey protein-milk fat emulsion gel microparticles, and the larger particle size affected the structural stability of yogurt. The WHC of yogurt made with whey protein-vegetable oil emulsion gel microparticles (V-EY) was lower (40.41%) than that of yogurt made with whey protein-milk fat emulsion gel microparticles (M-EY; 42.81%), and the texture results also showed that the hardness, consistency, and viscosity index of V-EY were inferior to these of M-EY, whereas no significant differences were found in the cohesiveness. Interestingly, the microstructure of V-EY was relatively flatter, with more and finer network branching. The whey separation between V-EY and M-EY also did not show significant differences during the 14 d of storage. Compared with yogurt made with whey protein, vegetable oil, and skim milk powder, the structure of V-EY remained relatively stable and had no cracks after 14 d of storage. The sensory evaluation results found that the total score of V-EY (62) was only lower than M-EY (65) and significantly higher than that of yogurt made with skim milk powder. The emulsion gel addition improved the sensory qualities of yogurt. Whey protein emulsion gel microparticles prepared from vegetable oil can be applied to low-fat yogurt to replace fat and improve texture and sensory defects associated with fat reduction.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of special noncoding RNA. circRNAs are highly stable and are found mainly in the cytoplasm. Most circRNAs are conserved and usually exhibit tissue specificity and timing specificity. In addition to the regulation mode of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), circRNAs can also bind to RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), regulate alternative splicing, encode proteins or polypeptides, and regulate the expression of parent genes affecting biological pathways in which coded proteins are involved. Autophagy is an important cellular mechanism that plays an essential role in normal cell physiological processes and in diseases, especially tumors. Studies reported that circRNAs have an important effect on autophagic processes. What are the detailed biological functions and mechanisms of circRNAs in autophagy? In this article, we summarize the relationship between circRNAs and autophagy and the regulatory function and mechanism (especially as microRNA [miRNA] sponges and binding to RBPs) of circRNAs in autophagy. In addition, we discuss the dysregulation and functional and clinical applications of autophagy-associated circRNAs in a variety of diseases. Autophagy-associated circRNAs have the potential to be essential biomarkers of diagnosis and treatment and to be beneficial to the research and development of targeted drugs for tumor or non-tumor diseases.

Objective To study the genotoxicity of sodium dehydroacetate (Na-DHA). Methods Five strains of Salmonella Typhimurium (TA97a, TA98, TA100, TA102 and TA1535) were used with the presence and absence of S9 in bacterial reverse mutation test. Bacteria were treated with Na-DHA at the dose levels of 1 667, 556, 185, 62, 21 μg/plate. Both negative and positive controls were set. The number of revertant colonies per plate were counted. Kunming mice used for micronucleus test were treated with Na-DHA at 549.0, 275.0 and 137.0 mg/kg BW by gavage twice a day with a 24 h interval. The femurs of mice were removed at 6 h after the second gavage. The numbers of red blood cell (RBC), polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE) and micronucleus (MN) were observed. The PCE/RBC and MN/PCE (the incidence of micronucleus) were calculated. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were treated with Na-DHA (2 000, 1 000, 500 μg/ml) in the presence and absence of S9 for 6 or 24 h. Three hundred well-spread metaphases per group were scored, following the incidence of chromosomal aberration recorded. Results No significant difference in the number of mutant colonies of TA97a, TA98, TA100, TA102 and TA1535 between the treated groups and the negative control group (P>0.05). The incidence of micronucleus in each dose group was not significantly different from that in the negative control group (P>0.05). No significant difference in the incidence of CHO cell chromosome aberration between the dose group and the negative control group (P>0.05). The mutant colony number, the incidence of micronucleus and the incidence of chromosome aberration in the three tests were significantly lower than that in the positive control groups, with statistically significant differences (P

Abstract Background The poor prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) highlights the need for novel strategies against this disease. Our previous study suggested the involvement of CCL2 and tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) in esophageal carcinogenesis. Despite the recognition of TAMs as a promising target for cancer treatment, mechanisms underlying its infiltration, activation and tumor-promotive function in ESCC remain unknown. Methods Human esophageal tissue array and TCGA database were used to evaluate the clinical relevance of CCL2 and TAMs in ESCC. F344 rats and C57BL/6 mice were treated with N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA) to establish orthotopic models of esophageal carcinogenesis. CCL2/CCR2 gene knockout mice and macrophage-specific PPARG gene knockout mice were respectively used to investigate the role of infiltration and polarization of TAMs in ESCC. CCL2-mediated monocyte chemotaxis was estimated in malignantly transformed Het-1A cells. THP-1 cells were used to simulate TAMs polarization in vitro. RNA-sequencing was performed to uncover the mechanism. Results Increasing expression of CCL2 correlated with TAMs accumulation in esophageal carcinogenesis, and they both predicts poor prognosis in ESCC cohort. Animal studies show blockade of CCL2-CCR2 axis strongly reduces tumor incidence by hindering TAMs recruitment and thereby potentiates the antitumor efficacy of CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment. More importantly, M2 polarization increases PD-L2 expression in TAMs, resulting in immune evasion and tumor promotion through PD-1 signaling pathway. Conclusion This study highlights the role of CCL2-CCR2 axis in esophageal carcinogenesis. Our findings provide new insight into the mechanism of immune evasion mediated by TAMs in ESCC, suggesting the potential of TAMs-targeted strategies for ESCC prevention and immunotherapy.

The immune microenvironment has profound impacts on the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, the goal of this article is to identify two robust immune subtypes in CRC, further provide novel insights for the underlying mechanisms and clinical management. In this study, two CRC immune subtypes were identified using the consensus clustering of immune-related gene expression profiles in the meta-GEO dataset (n = 1,198), and their reproducibility was further verified in the TCGA-CRC dataset (n = 638). Subsequently, we characterized the immune escape mechanisms, gene alterations, and clinical features of two immune subtypes. Cluster 1 (C1) was defined as the “immune cold subtype” with immune cell depletion and deficiency, while cluster 2 (C2) was designed as the “immune hot subtype”, with abundant immune cell infiltration and matrix activation. We also underlined the potential immune escape mechanisms: lack of MHC molecules and defective tumor antigen presentation capacity in C1, increased immunosuppressive molecules in C2. The prognosis and sensitivity to 5-FU, Cisplatin and immunotherapy differed between two subtypes. According to the two immune subtypes, we developed a prognosis associated risk score (PARS) with the accurate performance for predicting the prognosis. Additionally, two nomograms for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were further constructed to facilitate clinical management. Overall, our research provides new references and insights for understanding and refining the CRC.

A batch mode, pilot-scale process, involving ultrasound pretreatment (USP), enzymolysis, membrane filtration and drying was investigated for the production of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and antioxidative peptides from milk protein concentrate (MPC). The MPC solutions (2% or 5% protein) were hydrolyzed for 2 h with Neutrase at enzyme-to-substrate ratio of 1:50 (w/w) in 50 L batches after USP for 4 min at 800 W. Ultrafiltration (8 and 3.5 kDa membranes) and nanofiltration (0.2 kDa membrane) were done to produce 4 fractions (F1, >8 kDa; F2, 3.5–8 kDa; F3, 0.2–3.5 kDa; and F4,