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Background: Inositol is a potential new therapeutic agent for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but its effectiveness is still controversial. The aim of the report was to evaluate the effectiveness of inositol to preventing or reducing the severity of GDM. Methods: We searched PubMed, EmBase, Web of science, Cochrane library databases, Clinicaltrials.gov, and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effectiveness of inositol supplementation to prevent and treat GDM. This meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model. Results: A total of 7 RCTs (1319 pregnant women at high risk of GDM) were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that inositol supplementation resulted in a significantly lower incidence of GDM in the inositol versus the control group (odds ratio [OR] 0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24–0.67; P = 0.0005). The inositol group had improved fasting glucose oral glucose tolerance test (FG OGTT; mean difference [MD] = − 3.20; 95% CI − 4.45 to − 1.95; P < 0.00001), 1-h OGTT (MD = − 7.24; 95% CI − 12.23 to − 2.25; P = 0.004), and 2-h OGTT (MD = − 7.15; 95% CI − 12.86 to − 1.44; P = 0.01) results. Inositol also reduced the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.18–0.75; P = 0.006) and preterm birth (OR 0.35; 95% CI 0.18–0.69; P = 0.003). A meta-analysis of 4 RCTs including 320 GDM patients showed that the patients' insulin resistance (P < 0.05) and neonatal hypoglycemia risk (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.01–0.88; P = 0.04) were lower in the inositol than in the control group. Conclusions: Inositol supplementation during pregnancy has the potential to prevent GDM, improve glycemic control, and reduce preterm birth rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a significant cause of tumor treatment failure. Accumulating evidence suggests that autophagy plays a significant role in the development of MDR. Autophagy is a conserved mechanism that maintains tumor homeostasis by removing damaged mitochondria. However, the specific regulatory mechanism is unclear. Here, we summarize recent studies on the role of autophagy in the development of MDR and the initiation of mitophagy by Bcl-2-associated athanogene (BAG) family proteins. Additionally, this mini-review emphasizes the regulatory role of BAG family proteins, which maintain mitochondrial homeostasis by regulating the PINK1/Parkin pathway. Elucidation of the regulatory mechanisms of mitophagy may foster the development of clinical therapeutic strategies for MDR tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone that facilitates insulin secretion and preserves β cell function. hypertriglyceridemia plays an important role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and T2DM. The purpose of this study was to measure fasting active GLP-1 levels in hypertriglyceridemia subjects and analyse the relationship between GLP-1 and insulin resistance. Methods: We recruited 146 subjects including 38 diabetes patients with hypertriglyceridemia, 33 diabetes patients without hypertriglyceridemia, 35 hypertriglyceridemia subjects, and 40 healthy subjects as the normal control group. Serum fasting active GLP-1 was tested with ELISA in the four groups, and associations with insulin resistance were analysed. Results: Serum fasting active GLP-1 levels were significantly increased in hypertriglyceridemia subjects with or without T2DM compared with healthy controls, particularly hypertriglyceridemia patients with T2DM (p < 0.01). GLP-1 levels positively correlated with triglyceride (TG) levels, fasting insulin (FINS) levels, and HOMA-IR (p < 0.01). Furthermore, multiple stepwise regression showed that TG levels and HOMA-IR were independently associated with fasting active GLP-1 levels (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Hypertriglyceridemia was associated with elevated fasting active GLP-1 levels, and a significant association was noted between GLP-1 and HOMA-IR. This finding provides evidence that the increase in GLP-1 may play a compensatory role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance induced by hypertriglyceridemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

VUV/UV photodegradation technology, which is free of catalysts or oxidants, has been regarded as an efficient method to decompose gaseous VOCs. However, the mineralization of gaseous VOCs by VUV/UV photodegradation has seldom been discussed systematically. In this work, the mineralization of benzyl chloride in humid air is comprehensively investigated and the potential contributors in the system (i.e., light wavelength, O2 and H2O) are discussed. As a result, more than 95.0% benzyl chloride is mineralized at 40 min in humid air with 80% relative humidity (RH) despite its initial concentrations (i.e., ranging from 4 to 20 ppm). It is found that both 185-nm VUV light and H2O significant contribute to the efficient mineralization of benzyl chloride in humid air, while O2 only has a limited effect to the efficient mineralization of benzyl chloride in humid air. The introduction of H2O into the VUV/UV photodegradation can reduce the emission of ozone obviously. These findings are significant inspiration to application of the VUV/UV photodegradation technology on the treatment of gaseous VOCs in the actual air atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequent monitoring and relatively high fines are usually necessary to bring about improvements in environmental quality, but more challenging for many countries with limited human, material, and financial resources is to put them into practice. This paper developed a three-group model of a state-dependent enforcement in a repeated game to improve the policy implementation under limited inspection capacities. A certain number of firms are grouped (group 1, group 2, group 3) for different supervision intensity (e.g., the order of inspection probability corresponding to each group is p < p < p) based on their environmental performance. The optimal policy parameters, such as inspection probability of each group and the probability that a firm found in compliance is moved to a better reputation group, were obtained as the basis for regulator's policy making. Numerical simulations indicated that the three-group inspection regime can significantly increase compliance rate as compared with static enforcement with the same monitoring probability. Among the number of firms in each group under steady state conditions, group 2 had the most, group 1 was the second, and group 3 had the smallest. Analysis and prediction of a three-group reputation example provided a good experiment for the model. The results give a practical reference for the policy makers with inspection capacity constraints to achieve higher compliance rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

novel UV apparatus based on Dean vortex technology is designed for inactivating bacteria in milk. In this apparatus, the milk flows through a helical quartz tube coiling around an electrodeless UV lamp (EUL) with a radio frequency of 2.65 MHz. Flow rate, inner diameter of quartz tube, different UV sources, and different types of bacteria have been found as the key factors for the valuable effects on bacterial inactivation. The EUL apparatus worked more efficiently in the UV inactivation of the predetermined populations of milk-related bacteria than the conventional low-pressure high-intensity mercury lamp. When the UV dose of 21.3 mJ/cm was applied, the numbers of all the bacteria were reduced by more than 6 log with a flow rate of 28.8 L/h and a tube's inner diameter of 1.5 mm. Dean vortices were formed in the milk flow during the UV processing and played an important role in the UV inactivation of the bacteria. Another inactivation test with the apparatus applying the UV dose of 21.3 mJ/cm was also done with raw cow's milk containing indigenous microorganisms, including Salmonella and Shigella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus spp., Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, pseudomonads, and the total aerobic bacteria were reduced by approximately 3-4 log. In short, the EUL apparatus requires smaller energy, occupies less space, and has simpler operating procedures than thermal pasteurization. Thus, the novel method provides a viable alternative to thermal pasteurization of milk for improving the microbial safety of milk and extending its shelf life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]