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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303525.].

Snow pea is a very important vegetable, and its postharvest storage characteristics vary with species. Few studies on the differences in its storage characteristics are available. In this study, postharvest changes in metabolic rate (respiration rate and water loss rate), membrane permeability (relative conductivity), nutrient contents (total sugar, amino acids, starch), lignin, cellulose, β-Glucosidase (β-GC) enzyme activity, texture properties, PG enzyme activity and their relationship were analyzed in large sweet broad peas and small snow peas. On the 8th day of storage, we found that the respiration rate and water loss rate were increased, total sugars and total amino acids were decreased significantly in these two legume vegetables, and that metabolic rate was slower with less nutrients consumed in large sweet broad peas than in small snow peas. Throughout the 8-day whole storage, the lignin and cellulose contents were always lower in large sweet broad peas than in small snow peas. With the increasing storage time, small snow peas were more susceptible to lignification and fibrosis, which was observed in their texture properties. The enzyme activities related to cellulose and pectin degradation (β-GC, PG) also showed the same trend during the storage. At the late stage of storage, the taste of large sweet broad peas was better than that of small snow peas. In conclusion, the storage period of large sweet broad peas was longer than that of the small snow peas, and its lignification degree was lower than that of the small snow peas. Meanwhile, senescence and lignin accumulation led to hardening of snow pea during postharvest storage. Our findings provide a theoretical reference for improving the postharvest storage quality of snow pea and extending the shelf life.

The study objective was to retrospectively analyze the metabolic variables derived from 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) as predictors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in advanced lung adenocarcinoma stratified by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status. A total of 176 patients (91, EGFR mutation; 85, wild-type EGFR) who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT before treatment were enrolled. The main 18F-FDG PET/CT-derived variables: primary tumor maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmaxT), primary tumor total lesion glycolysis (TLGT), the maximum SUVmax of all selected lesions in whole body determined using the Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 criteria (SUVmaxWBR), and whole-body total TLG determined using the RECIST 1.1 criteria (TLGWBR) were measured. Survival analysis regarding TLGWBR, and other factors in advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients stratified using EGFR mutation status, were evaluated. The results indicated that high TLGWBR (≥259.85), EGFR wild-type, and high serum LDH were independent predictors of worse PFS and OS in all patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma. Among patients with wild-type EGFR, only TLGWBR retained significance as an independent predictor of both PFS and OS. Among patients with the EGFR mutation, high serum LDH level was an independent predictor of worse PFS and OS, and high TLGWBR (≥259.85) was an independent predictor of worse PFS but not worse OS. In conclusion, TLGWBR is a promising parameter for prognostic stratification of patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma and EGFR status; however, it cannot be used to further stratify the risk of worse OS for patients with the EGFR mutation. Further prospective studies are needed to validate our findings.

The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of the numbers of metabolically positive lymph nodes (MPLN) detected by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC).We retrospectively analyzed the records of 50 patients with LAGC (stage T2-T4) who had undergone pre-operative PET/CT examination and laparotomy (total gastrectomy, n = 11; subtotal gastrectomy, n = 13; distal gastrectomy, n = 22; and bypass with gastrojejunstomy, n = 4). The numbers of MPLN were determined by combining visual observations with semi-quantitative measurements of the maximized standardized uptake value (SUVmax). Performance was investigated in terms of predicting post-surgical overall survival (OS).The median post-surgical OS was 32.57 months (range 3.0-94 months). The numbers of MPLN were moderately correlated with the numbers of histological positive LN (r = 0.694, p = 0.001). In univariate analyses, the numbers of MPLN (≤ 2 vs. ≥3), PET/CT LN (positivity vs. negativity), SUVmax of LN (< 2.8 vs. ≥ 2.8), TNM stage (I, II vs. III, IV), and surgery type (R0 vs. non-R0) were significantly associated with OS. In multivariate analysis, surgery type (R0 vs. non-R0) and numbers of MPLN (≤ 2 vs. ≥ 3) were both independent factors for poor OS.This explored study indicates that the number of MPLN could provide additional information for LAGC prognosis. Patients with MPLNs ≥ 3 may be at the risk of the more bad outcomes, and the further clinical trials are needed.

Sleep deprivation (SD) plays a complex role in central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Recent studies indicate that short-term SD can affect the extent of ischemic damage. The aim of this study was to investigate whether short-term SD could stimulate hippocampal neurogenesis in a rat model of global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (GCIR).One hundred Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into Sham, GCIR and short-term SD groups based on different durations of SD; the short-term SD group was randomly divided into three subgroups: the GCIR+6hSD*3d-treated, GCIR+12hSD-treated and GCIR+12hSD*3d-treated groups. The GCIR rat model was induced via the bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries and hemorrhagic hypotension. The rats were sleep-deprived starting at 48 h following GCIR. A Morris water maze test was used to assess learning and memory ability; cell proliferation and differentiation were analyzed via 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE), respectively, at 14 and 28 d; the expression of hippocampal BDNF was measured after 7 d.The different durations of short-term SD designed in our experiment exhibited improvement in cognitive function as well as increased hippocampal BDNF expression. Additionally, the short-term SD groups also showed an increased number of BrdU- and BrdU/NSE-positive cells compared with the GCIR group. Of the three short-term SD groups, the GCIR+12hSD*3d-treated group experienced the most substantial beneficial effects.Short-term SD, especially the GCIR+12hSD*3d-treated method, stimulates neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of rats that undergo GCIR, and BDNF may be an underlying mechanism in this process.

OBJECT: The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for screening brain tumors, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of published data on the diagnostic performance of MRS. METHODS: The PubMed and PHMC databases were systematically searched for relevant studies up to December 2013. The sensitivities and specificities of MRS in individual studies were calculated and the pooled diagnostic accuracies, with 95% confidence intervals (CI), were assessed under a fixed-effects model. RESULTS: Twenty-four studies were included, comprising a total of 1013 participants. Overall, no heterogeneity of diagnostic effects was observed between studies. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MRS were 80.05% (95% CI = 75.97%-83.59%) and 78.46% (95% CI: 73.40%-82.78%), respectively. The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.78. Stratified meta analysis showed higher sensitivity and specificity in child than adult. CSI had higher sensitivity and SV had higher specificity. Higher sensitivity and specificity were obtained in short TE value. CONCLUSION: Although the qualities of the studies included in the meta-analysis were moderate, current evidence suggests that MRS may be a valuable adjunct to magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosing brain tumors, but requires selection of suitable technique and TE value.

This study aims to establish a human gut microbiota (HGM) transplanted gnotobiotic (Gn) pig model of human rotavirus (HRV) infection and diarrhea, and to verify the dose-effects of probiotics on HRV vaccine-induced immune responses. Our previous studies using the Gn pig model found that probiotics dose-dependently regulated both T cell and B cell immune responses induced by rotavirus vaccines. We generated the HGM transplanted neonatal Gn pigs through daily feeding of neonatal human fecal suspension to germ-free pigs for 3 days starting at 12 hours after birth. We found that attenuated HRV (AttHRV) vaccination conferred similar overall protection against rotavirus diarrhea and virus shedding in Gn pigs and HGM transplanted Gn pigs. HGM promoted the development of the neonatal immune system, as evidenced by the significantly enhanced IFN-γ producing T cell responses and reduction of regulatory T cells and their cytokine production in the AttHRV-vaccinated pigs. The higher dose Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) feeding (14 doses, up to 109 colony-forming-unit [CFU]/dose) effectively increased the LGG counts in the HGM Gn pig intestinal contents and significantly enhanced HRV-specific IFN-γ producing T cell responses to the AttHRV vaccine. Lower dose LGG (9 doses, up to 106 CFU/dose) was ineffective. Neither doses of LGG significantly improved the protection rate, HRV-specific IgA and IgG antibody titers in serum, or IgA antibody titers in intestinal contents compared to the AttHRV vaccine alone, suggesting that an even higher dose of LGG is needed to overcome the influence of the microbiota to achieve the immunostimulatory effect in the HGM pigs. This study demonstrated that HGM Gn pig is an applicable animal model for studying immune responses to rotavirus vaccines and can be used for studying interventions (i.e., probiotics and prebiotics) that may enhance the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of vaccines through improving the gut microbiota.