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The beneficial effects of probiotics for the improvement of metabolic disorders have been studied intensively; however, these effects are evident in a probiotic strain-specific and disease-specific manner. Thus, it is still essential to evaluate the efficacy of each strain against a target disease. Here, we present an anti-obese and anti-diabetic probiotic strain, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum APsulloc331261 (GTB1™), which was isolated from green tea and tested for safety previously. In high-fat-diet-induced obese mice, GTB1™ exerted multiple beneficial effects, including significant reductions in adiposity, glucose intolerance, and dyslipidemia, which were further supported by improvements in levels of circulating hormones and adipokines. Lipid metabolism in adipose tissues was restored through the activation of PPAR/PGC1α signaling by GTB1™ treatment, which was facilitated by intestinal microbiota composition changes and short-chain fatty acid production. Our findings provide evidence to suggest that GTB1™ is a potential candidate for probiotic supplementation for comprehensive improvement in metabolic disorders.

The aim of this study was to analyze the physiological activity of 48 soybean resources harvested in 2020 to identify the soybean resources' relationships with individual isoflavone compounds and their genetic properties. These data will subsequently be compared with the research results on soybeans harvested in 2019. Initially, with respect to the physiological activity (6 types) and substances (19 types), this study evaluated the differences between the cultivation year (two years), seed coat color (three colors), and the interaction of the year and seed coat color of soybeans through ANOVA. Among the physiological activities, there were differences in the estrogen, estrogen receptor alpha, and UCP-1 (uncoupling protein-1) activities depending on the cultivation year. Moreover, there were differences in NO (nitric oxide), revealing differences in the ABTS (2, 2'-azino-bis-3ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activities due to the seed coat color and the interaction of the year and seed coat color. Soybeans harvested in 2020 exhibited increased ABTS, DPPH, and NO inhibitory activities and reduced estrogen, estrogen receptor alpha, and UCP-1 activities compared to those harvested in 2019. According to the ANOVA results, eight of the nineteen individual derivatives illustrated yearly differences, while three derivatives displayed differences due to the seed coat color. Secondly, according to the relationship between the efficacy, derivative substances, and genetic properties, it was determined that genistein 7- O -(2″- O -apiosyl)glucoside (F5) is the individual isoflavone derivative that affected the six types of physiological activity, on which the genome-wide association study (GWAS) showed no significant differences for genetic properties. These results were inconsistent with the 2019 data, where three types of individual compounds, including F5, were proposed as substances that correlated with efficacy and there was a high correlation with genetic properties. Therefore, this study selected B17, B23, B15, B24, and Y7 as excellent varieties that are stable and highly functional in the cultivation environment, producing only small annual differences. The results of this study will be utilized as basic data for predicting soybean varieties and their cultivation, which have high environmental stability under climate variation and properly retain the functional substances and efficacy.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are a promising prognostic biomarker for cancers. However, the paucity of CTCs in peripheral blood in early-stage cancer is a major challenge. Our study aimed to investigate whether portal venous CTCs can be a biomarker for early recurrence and poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer. Patients who underwent upfront curative surgery for resectable pancreatic cancer were consecutively enrolled in this prospective study. Intraoperatively, 7.5 mL of portal and peripheral blood was collected, and CTC detection and identification were performed using immunofluorescence staining. Peripheral blood CTC sampling was performed in 33 patients, of which portal vein CTC sampling was performed in 28. The median portal venous CTCs (2.5, interquartile ranges (IQR) 1−7.75) were significantly higher than the median peripheral venous CTCs (1, IQR 0−2, p < 0.001). Higher stage and regional lymph node metastasis were related with a larger number of CTCs (≥3) in portal venous blood. Patients with low portal venous CTCs (≤2) showed better overall (p = 0.002) and recurrence-free (p = 0.007) survival than those with high portal venous CTCs (≥3). If validated, portal CTCs can be used as a prognostic biomarker in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer.

The functionality of soybeans is an important factor in the selection and utilization of excellent soybean cultivars, and isoflavones are representative functional substances in soybeans, which exhibit effects on antioxidants, estrogen activity, and cancer, and prevent cardiovascular diseases. This study analyzed ABTS, DPPH, estrogen, ER (ER) alpha, UCP-1, and NO inhibition activities in 48 types of soybean cultivars, as well as the relationship with 19 isolated types of individual isoflavone derivatives. Statistical analysis was conducted to find individual isoflavone derivatives affecting physiological activities, revealing the high correlation of three types of derivatives: genistein 7-O-(6″-O-acetyl)glucoside (6″-O-acetylgenistin), genistein 7-O-(2″-O-apiosyl)glucoside, and glycitein. Based on these results, 15 types of soybean cultivars were selected (one control type, seven yellow types, six black types, and one green type), which have both high physiological activities and a high content of individual isoflavone derivatives. In addition, these high correlations were further verified through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to determine the association between activities, substances, and genetic characteristics. This study comprehensively describes the relationship between the specific physiological activities of soybean resources, individual isoflavone derivative substances, and SNPs, which will be utilized for in-depth research, such as selection of excellent soybean resources with specific physiological activities.

Acupuncture point (AP) selections can vary depending on clinicians' acupuncture style, and therefore, acupuncture style is an important factor in determining the efficacy of acupuncture treatment. However, few studies have examined the differences in AP selections according to the acupuncture styles and theoretical backgrounds causing the differences. We compared the AP prescriptions used for 14 diseases in three classical medical textbooks, Dongeuibogam (DEBG), Saamdoinchimgooyogyeol (SADI), and Chimgoogyeongheombang (CGGHB), which represent unique acupuncture styles and have affected clinicians during this time. AP prescriptions showed more diversity between textbooks than between types of diseases. Among the three textbooks, AP prescriptions of SADI were most different compared to those of DEBG and CGGHB. Importantly, we found each style can be more clearly explained by AP attributes than by the APs per se. Specifically, SADI, DEBG, and CGGHB preferred five transport points located on the limbs, APs of the extra meridians , and source points , respectively. This suggests the possibility that the theoretical diversity of acupuncture styles results in the heterogeneity of AP selections.

Although many studies have investigated the efficacy of stent placement for patients with malignant extrahepatic biliary obstruction, the clinical outcomes and adverse events of biliary stenting have not been comprehensively evaluated. We searched all relevant randomized-controlled trials that evaluated the comparative efficacy of biliary stents, including the plastic stents, uncovered self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs), and covered SEMSs in patients with malignant extrahepatic biliary obstructions. Twenty-one studies with 2326 patients were included. Both uncovered and covered SEMSs had a lower risk of recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO) compared to plastic stents (risk ratio (RR) (95% confidence interval [CI]): uncovered vs. plastic, 0.46 (0.35-0.62); covered vs. plastic, 0.46 (0.34-0.62)). A comparison of the groups using SEMSs revealed that tumor ingrowth was common in the uncovered SEMS group, while stent migration, tumor overgrowth, and occlusion by sludge were common in the covered SEMS group; however, the overall risk of RBO did not differ between these groups (RR (95% CI): uncovered vs. covered: 1.02 (0.80-1.30)). Although the main causes of RBO vary across stents, RBO risk was similar between uncovered and covered SEMS groups. Both SEMSs have superior efficacy in terms of RBO compared to plastic stents.

Novel slim biopsy forceps provide some technical advantages to facilitate a more accurate diagnosis, although we are not aware of any comparative studies. Therefore, we compared tissue acquisition and diagnostic accuracy between novel slim biopsy forceps and conventional biopsy forceps in cases with a biliary stricture. We reviewed 341 patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for the histological confirmation of biliary stricture at two tertiary hospitals between 2013 and 2020. The primary endpoint was the forceps' diagnostic accuracies. We included 276 patients who underwent biopsy using the novel forceps ( n = 130) or conventional forceps ( n = 146). The novel forceps provided 81.7% sensitivity, 100.0% specificity, positive-predictive value (PPV) of 100.0%, and negative-predictive value (NPV) of 57.8%, with an accuracy of 85.4% when the diagnosis by endobiliary biopsy included suspected or positive malignancy. The conventional forceps provided 61.7% sensitivity, 100.0% specificity, PPV of 100.0%, and NPV of 36.1%, with an accuracy of 68.5%. Only novel forceps use was significantly associated with an accurate diagnosis (odds ratio: 2.70, 95% confidence interval: 1.52-5.00). There were no significant inter-group differences in the procedure-related rates of adverse events. Endobiliary biopsy using novel forceps offered better diagnostic performance and more acceptable procedure-related adverse events than conventional forceps.

Chinese chives (CC) are rich in several antimicrobial constituents including organosulfur compounds, phenolics, and saponins, among others. Herein, we fermented CC juice using an autochthonous isolate, Lactobacillus plantarum having antimicrobial effects against poultry pathogens toward formulating an antimicrobial feed additive. Following 24 h of fermentation, the antimicrobial and antiviral activities of CC juice were significantly enhanced against poultry pathogens. However, the antioxidant activity of CC juice was significantly decreased following fermentation. Meanwhile, the compositional changes of CC juice following fermentation were also investigated. The total polyphenol, thiol, and allicin contents were significantly decreased in L. plantarum 24 h-fermented CC juice (LpCC) extract; however, total flavonoids increased significantly following fermentation. The untargeted metabolite profiling of nonfermented CC juice (NCC) and LpCC extracts was carried out using the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-linear trap quadrupole-orbitrap-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS/MS) followed by multivariate analyses. The score plots of principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) based on UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS/MS datasets displayed a clear segregation between the LpCC and NCC samples, which suggests their marked metabolomic disparity. Based on the multivariate analysis, we selected 17 significantly discriminant metabolites belonging to the different chemical classes including alkaloid, flavonols, saponins, fatty acids, amino acids, and organic acids. Notably, the flavonols including the glycosides of quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin as well as the saponins displayed significantly higher relative abundance in LpCC as compared with NCC. This study provides useful insights for the development of a fermented CC juice based antimicrobial feed additive to combat poultry infections.

: Menopause compounds many cardiometabolic risk factors through endogenous estrogen withdrawal. This study aimed to find the association between serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and cardiometabolic risk factors in post-menopausal Korean women. A total of 608 post-menopausal women from eight randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials on menopause during the year 2012-2019 were analyzed. Cardiometabolic risk factors such as body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and TG/HDL-C ratio were significantly improved as the FSH quartiles increased. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the number of components of MetS decreased as FSH quartiles increased. In regression analysis, FSH level was negatively associated with cardiometabolic risk factors including body mass index, body weight, waist circumference, fasting glucose and TG, while it was positively associated with HDL-C. The odds ratio of MetS in the first quartile of FSH was 2.682 compared with that in the fourth quartile of FSH in a logistic regression model. Serum FSH levels had a negative correlation with cardiometabolic risk factors in post-menopausal Korean women, suggesting that a low FSH can be a predictor for cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have received great attention as optical agents because of their low toxicity, stable photoluminescence (PL) in moderate pH solutions, and size-dependent optical properties. Although many synthetic routes have been proposed for producing GQD solutions, the broad size distribution in GQD solutions limits its use as an efficient optical agent. Here, we present a straightforward method for size fractionation of GQDs dispersed in water using a cross-flow filtration system and a track-etched membrane with cylindrical uniform nanopores. The GQD aqueous suspension, which primarily contained blue-emitting GQDs (B-GQDs) and green-emitting GQDs (G-GQDs), was introduced to the membrane in tangential flow and was fractionated with a constant permeate flow of about 800 L m -2 h -1 bar -1 . After filtration, we observed a clear blue PL spectrum from the permeate side, which can be attributed to selective permeation of relatively small B-GQDs. The process provided a separation factor (B-GQDs/G-GQDs) of 0.74. In the cross-flow filtration system, size-dependent permeation through cylindrical nanochannels was confirmed by simulation. Our results demonstrate a feasible method facilitating size fractionation of two-dimensional nanostructures using a cross-flow membrane filtration system. Since membrane filtration is simple, cost-effective, and scalable, our approach can be applied to prepare a large amount of size-controlled GQDs required for high performance opto-electronics and bio-imaging applications.

Niemann-Pick Disease, type C1 (NPC1) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cholesterol sequestration within late endosomes and lysosomes, for which no reliable imaging marker exists for prognostication and management. Cerebellar volume deficits are found to correlate with disease severity and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the corpus callosum and brainstem, which has shown that microstructural disorganization is associated with NPC1 severity. This study investigates the utility of cerebellar DTI in clinical severity assessment. We hypothesize that cerebellar volume, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) negatively correlate with NIH NPC neurological severity score (NNSS) and motor severity subscores. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained for thirty-nine NPC1 subjects, ages 1-21.9 years (mean = 11.1, SD = 6.1). Using an atlas-based automated approach, the cerebellum of each patient was measured for FA, MD and volume. Additionally, each patient was given an NNSS. Decreased cerebellar FA and volume, and elevated MD correlate with higher NNSS. The cognition subscore and motor subscores for eye movement, ambulation, speech, swallowing, and fine motor skills were also statistically significant. Microstructural disorganization negatively correlated with motor severity in subjects. Additionally, Miglustat therapy correlated with lower severity scores across ranges of FA, MD and volume in all regions except the inferior peduncle, where a paradoxical effect was observed at high FA values. These findings suggest that DTI is a promising prognostication tool.