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Achilles tendon injury is a common sports injury, and an in‐depth understanding of its healing process is essential for improving rehabilitation strategies. As a non‐invasive imaging technology with excellent anatomical and functional information extraction abilities, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used in the evaluation and monitoring of Achilles tendon injury. MRI scans at different stages of Achilles tendon healing can provide information about the structure of the Achilles tendon tissue, blood supply, composition, and metabolism. The change pattern on dynamic MRI evaluation is closely related to the specific stage of Achilles tendon healing and tissue characteristics. For example, the signal strength of dynamic enhanced MRI sequences can reflect blood supply to the Achilles tendon, whereas some quantitative MRI techniques can provide information on the recovery of water and collagen contents in the Achilles tendon. This article discusses the pathophysiological changes after Achilles tendon injury and summarizes the clinical and research status of the MRI techniques used for monitoring Achilles tendon healing. The feasibility of various MRI techniques for monitoring Achilles tendon healing and their correlation with histology, biochemistry, and biomechanics are reviewed, along with the challenges, limitations, and potential opportunities for their application. Level of Evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Auricularia auricula is of important nutritional value, although its utilization or consumption are mainly under the original form with no further processing. Indeed, its liquid or other fermented products contribute to improved digestion and absorption of nutrients. RESULTS: The present study used Lactiplantibacillus plantarum to ferment A. auricula juice after an initial processing comprising superfine grinding and high‐pressure homogenization. The content of probiotic bacteria in the juice of A. auricula reached 8.48 log colony‐forming units mL−1 after 24 h of fermentation under 37 °C, with the addition of 3% carbon and 0.3% nitrogen source. Meanwhile, the antioxidant activity was increased approximately two‐fold, as well as the enriched volatile flavors, both effectively cover up the unwelcoming earthy smell of A. auricula. Furthermore, the storage stability was also strengthened up to 28 days. CONCLUSION: In summary, the introduced fermentation process not only realized the purpose of improving the nutritional value of A. auricula, but also effectively upgraded the sensory evaluation of A. auricula products. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Oyster's lipid degradation leads to a decrease in edible and nutritional value. Curcumin‐mediated photodynamic treatment (PDT) is an innovative non‐thermal technology, although evaluation of the oyster's lipid degradation has been scarce. In the present study, we investigated peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, triacylglycerol and free fatty acids to evaluate the effect of curcumin‐mediated PDT on lipid degradation of oysters during refrigerated storage. RESULTS: The results showed that curcumin‐mediated PDT could delay oyster's lipid degradation. Next, the activities of enzymes were detected to determine the mechanisms behind the effects of curcumin‐mediated PDT. It was revealed that the activities of lipase, phospholipase A2 (PLA2), phospholipase C (PLC), phospholipase D (PLD) and lipoxygenase (LOX) were significantly inhibited after curcumin‐mediated PDT (P < 0.05). Furthermore, 16 s rRNA analysis established that the relative abundances of Pseudoalteromonas and Psychrilyobacter were reduced by 51.58% and 43.82%, respectively, after curcumin‐mediated PDT. CONCLUSION: Curcumin‐mediated PDT could delay oyster's lipid degradation by inhibiting the activities of lipase, PLA2, PLC, PLD and LOX, as well as by changing the oyster's microbial composition, reducing the relative abundance of Pseudoalteromonas and Psychrilyobacter. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea infects a broad range of horticultural plants worldwide, resulting in significant economic losses. A derivative of chitosan, oligochitosan, has been reported to be an eco‐friendly alternative to synthetic fungicides. RESULTS: Oligochitosan can greatly inhibit B. cinerea spore germination and induce protein carbonylation. To further investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect, a comparative proteome analysis was conducted of oligochitosan‐treated versus non‐treated B. cinerea spores. The cellular proteins were obtained from B. cinerea spore samples and subjected to two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis. In total, 21 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified. Three DEPs were up‐regulated in the oligochitosan‐treated versus the untreated spores, including scytalone dehydratase and a serine carboxypeptidase III precursor. By contrast, seven DEPs, including Hsp 88 and cell division cycle protein 48, were down‐regulated by oligochitosan treatment. Notably, 10 DEPs, including phosphatidylserine decarboxylase proenzyme and ATP‐dependent molecular chaperone HSC82, were only detected in the control spores, whereas one DEP, a non‐annotated predicted protein, was only detected in the oligochitosan‐treated spores. CONCLUSION: Oligochitosan may affect the spore germination of B. cinerea by impairing protein function. These findings have practical implications with respect to the use of oligochitosan for controlling fungal pathogens. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzymatic browning is a main problem encountered in the preparation and further storage of apple juice, thus shortening shelf-life of products. Preliminary screening of the chitosan samples with different molecular weights, determined by antioxidant capacity in vitro, showed that oligochitosan with a molecular weight of 1 kDa (OCS1) was the most potent antioxidant among those tested. OCS1 at three different concentrations was added during juice processing and then the juice were stored at 25C for 48 h to investigate its effects on browning. The application of oligochitosan effectively retarded juice browning and had little effect on the content of nutritional components. OCS1-treated apple juice exhibited lower levels of protein and total phenols, as well as superoxide anion radicals ( [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitosan beads were prepared by the method of inverse suspension cross-linking characterized and applied to remove patulin from aqueous solution. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to evaluate the optimum adsorption conditions and reusability. The results showed that chitosan beads were effective in removing patulin from aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacity of chitosan beads for patulin was 626.4 μg/g at pH 7.0, 40C for 24 h. The kinetics and isotherm models were investigated to characterize the mechanism of patulin adsorption. Adsorption process of patulin on chitosan beads could be described by pseudo second-order model and Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. It was concluded that chitosan beads were very promising biosorbent for patulin removal from aqueous solution. Practical Applications This study established the basis for the removal of patulin from aqueous solution, and chitosan beads were applied to strengthen the control of patulin for the first time. Therefore, this work was of great significance in protecting human health from patulin contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on patients with refractory partial epilepsy. Methods: Sixty-four patients with refractory focal epilepsy were screened and 60 patients were randomly divided into two groups by stimulation intensity: 90% (group 1) or 20% (group 2) of resting motor threshold (rMT). Seizure frequency and interictal EEG epileptic discharges were compared between the baseline and follow-up periods. Key Findings: Seizures significantly decreased following 2-weeks high intensity (90% rMT) rTMS treatment compared with baseline level (p < 0.05). rTMS also decreased interictal epilepsy discharges and improved the scales of Symptom Checklist-90 significantly (p < 0.05). Seizures and spikes in the follow-up period in the patients who received low intensity (20% rMT) rTMS did not show any difference compared with baseline data (p > 0.05, respectively). Significance: Low-frequency high intensity rTMS (90% rMT) delivered into the epileptogenic zone had a significant antiepileptic effect on patients with refractory partial seizures. rTMS treatment can also reduce the interictal epileptic discharge frequency and improve the psychological condition of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the effect of oligochitosan on purified polyphenol oxidase (PPO) from Fuji apple and the associated mechanisms. PPO was firstly separated and purified in a four‐step procedure and the molecular weight was estimated to be about 65 kDa by SDS‐PAGE. PPO showed an optimum activity at pH 7 and 35°C, and it was stable in the temperature range of 25–55°C with more than 50% residual activity. Thermal inactivation parameters indicated that the Fuji apple PPO was very heat‐labile. Using catechol as the substrate, the PPO activity decreased with the increase of oligochitosan concentration, and only 30% activity remained when the concentration reached 4mg/mL. Oligochitosan showed uncompetitive type reversible inhibition with Ki value of 0.26mg/mL. Data obtained in this study provided theoretical basis for controlling enzymatic browning during apple processing with oligochitosan. Practical applications: Processing operations, such as peeling, cutting, and juicing have the same problem: enzymatic browning, which causes a decrease in market value and economic loss. The most common approach for preventing browning is using anti‐browning agents, however, consumers are demanding a reduction in the overall use of chemicals on foods safe and asking effective substitutes especially natural inhibitors with the increased health awareness. This research systematically characterizes the enzymatic browning related PPO from apple and demonstrated that oligochitosan can inhibited PPO activity as an uncompetitive inhibitor, which will help in the development of oligochitosan to be a new type of anti‐browning agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]