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The high sensitivity to color browning during room-temperature storage was a significant factor in limiting the development of fresh spinach noodles (FSN). The practice of humidity-controlled heat treatment (HCHT) at varying temperatures, relative humidity, and time was carried out to limit enzyme activity and improve the quality of FSN. Results showed that HCHT could maximize the color preservation of fresh spinach noodle quality while effectively inactivating polyphenol oxidase and the yeasts, and mold count in FSN during storage was almost undetectable after mild conditions (80 °C). The hardness and chewiness of HCHT noodles were significantly increased, but the free sulfhydryl content was reduced. At 80 °C, 90 %, 5 min, protein structural aggregation was found in the microstructure of HCHT fresh spinach noodles. HCHT also caused partial gelatinization, as evidenced by the decrease in starch gelatinization enthalpy from 5.49 to 4.77 J/g, although the gelatinization degree of FSN was comparatively low., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Background: Although colonoscopic retroflexion has been proved effective in reducing missed adenomas, there is still a lack of comprehensive and in-depth research focused on the ascending colon. We aimed to conduct a randomized controlled trial and tandem colonoscopy to investigate whether cecal retroflexion observed during colonoscopy can reduce missed adenomas in the ascending colon., Methods: Men and women required to be between 45 and 80 years of age were screened for enrollment in the trial. Patients were randomly assigned according to a 1:1 ratio to either the trial group or control group. Patients in the trial group underwent 2 forward examination and a cecal retroflexion observed in the ascending colon, while patients in the control group underwent only 2 forward examinations in the ascending colon. The primary outcome was adenoma miss rate. The secondary outcomes contained adenoma detection rate, polyp miss rate, polyp detection rate, insertion time and withdrawal time. Differences between groups in the primary outcome and in the other categorical indicators were tested using chi-squared test and Fisher exact test. For the comparison of continuous outcomes, the Student t test was applied., Results: A total of 60 subjects were eligible for the study between April to June 2020, of which 55 were randomized and eligible for analysis (26 to the control group and 29 to the trial group). The characteristics of patients were no significant differences statistically between the trial group and the control group. Similarly, the characteristics of the colonoscopy procedures included cecal insertion distance, the length of cecum and ascending colon, insertion time, withdrawal time, quality of bowel preparation, numerical rating scale for pain, polyps detected, and adenomas detected, and there were no significant differences statistically between the 2 groups (P = .864, P = .754, P = .700, P = .974, P = .585, P = .835, P = .373, P = .489). The characteristics of the polyps were also no significant differences statistically between the 2 groups., Conclusion: This pilot trial failed to show benefit of cecal retroflexion observed on adenoma missing of ascending colon during colonoscopy; however, further conclusions require a prospective study with a higher level of evidence. (NCT03355443)., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Objective: To observe the effect of cluster needling of scalp points on nuclear transcription factor kappa B p65 (NF-κB p65)，NF-κB inhibitory protein α (IKBα)，β secretase 1 (BACE1)，beta-amyloid protein (Aβ) and hippocampal morphology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) rats，so as to reveal its mechanism underlying improvement of AD., Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham operation，model，clustering acupuncture and medication groups，with 12 trats in each group. AD model was induced by Aβ1-42 injection into bilateral hippocampus. In the clustering acupuncture group，"Baihui" (DU20) and 1 mm on left and right sides of DU20 were needled for 30 min，once daily for 14 d. Rats of the medication group were given donepezil hydrochloride (0.5 mg·kg -1 ·d -1 ) intragastric perfusion once a day for 14 d. Morris water maze test was used to evaluate the cognitive function of rats. HE staining was used to observe the structure changes of hippocampal tissue. The expressions of NF-κB p65，IKBα and BACE1 in hippocampus were detected by Western blot. ELISA was used to detect the levels of Aβ in hippocampus and serum of rats., Results: Compared with sham operation group，the escape latency of Morris water maze test in the model group was prolonged，the number of crossing the original platform was decreased( P <0.01)，the protein expressions of NF-κB p65 and BACE1 in hippocampus，and the levels of Aβ in hippocampus and serum of AD rats were increased ( P <0.01， P <0.05)，while the expression of IKBα protein was decreased ( P <0.01). Compared with the model group，the escape latency of Morris water maze test was shortened and the number of crossing the original platform was increased in the clustering acupuncture and medication groups ( P <0.01， P <0.05)，and the protein expressions of NF-κB p65 and BACE1 in hippocampus，the levels of Aβ in hippocampus and serum were decreased ( P <0.01， P <0.05)，while the expression of IKBα protein was increased ( P <0.01). In comparison of the medication group，the protein expressions of NF-κB p65 and IKBα was lower in the clustering acupuncture group ( P <0.05). HE staining showed that cells in the hippocampus were arranged loosely and disordered，some cytoplasm was hyperchromatic，nucleus was pyknotic，inflammatory cells were infiltrated in the model group，which were relatively milder in the clustering acupuncture and medication groups., Conclusion: Cluster needling at scalp points may improve the cognitive impairment in AD rats by reducing inflammatory infiltration in hippocampus，regulating the expressions of NF-κB p65，IKBα and BACE1，and inhibiting the aggregation of Aβ.

Background: Bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 1A ( BMPR1A ) is responsible for two individual Mendelian diseases: juvenile polyposis syndrome and hereditary mixed polyposis syndrome 2, which have overlapping phenotypes. This study aimed to elucidate whether these two syndromes are just two subtypes of a single syndrome rather than two isolated syndromes., Methods: We sequenced the BMPR1A gene in 186 patients with polyposis and colorectal cancer, and evaluated the clinicopathological features and phenotypes of the probands and their available relatives with BMPR1A mutations., Results: BMPR1A germline mutations were found in six probands and their three available relatives. The numbers of frameshift, nonsense, splice-site, and missense mutations were one, one, two, and two, respectively; two of the six mutations were novel. Typical juvenile polyps were found in only three patients. Two patients had colorectal cancer rather than any polyps., Conclusions: Diseases in BMPR1A germline mutation carriers vary from mixed polyposis to sole colorectal cancer, and typical juvenile polyps do not always occur in these carriers. The variety of phenotypes reflected the features of BMPR1A -mutation carriers, which should be recognized as a spectrum of one syndrome. Genetic testing may be a good approach to identifying BMPR1A -related syndromes., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press and Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.)

In the recent decades, obesity rates among children and adolescents, especially males, have increased significantly. This worldwide phenomenon is thought to significantly affect the levels of sex hormones. However, the association between waist circumference (a marker of abdominal obesity) and sex hormone levels in children and adolescents is unknown. In this study, 4031 participants aged 6-19 years from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the USA were enrolled in this study. The common confounders of age, race, body mass index, educational level, family income, diabetes, and time of sample collection were also collected. The participants missing any of the above information were excluded from the study. We used multiple linear regression and other multiple statistics to assess the associations between waist circumference and serum testosterone, estradiol, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), free androgen index (FAI), and testosterone/estradiol ratio (T/E 2 ). Waist circumference remained associated with sex hormone levels in children and adolescents after controlling for covariates. As waist circumference increases, testosterone levels in children and adolescents show an overall decline after a brief increase, with the inflection point for waist circumference of 65-66 cm. In addition, waist circumference positively correlates with estradiol levels in male children (β = 0.007, 95% confidence interval: 0.004-0.009). Moreover, circulating SHBG decreases in children and adolescents as waist circumference increases. In conclusion, this study highlighted waist circumference as a vital indicator affecting sex hormone levels in children and adolescents., Competing Interests: None

Acid hydrolysis is a crucial method for modifying granular starch, but it is often conducted at low temperatures (below 55 °C) for an extended period of time to prevent crystallinity loss. The high-temperature acid hydrolysis (HTAH) behavior of heat-moisture treated (HMT) starch at 69 °C was investigated for the first time. The crystalline structure of starch was enhanced by HMT, confirmed by its rheological, thermal, and infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy results. The amorphous structure of HMT starch was preferentially hydrolyzed with high reactivity, related to a fast hydrolysis stage (4.17 × 10 -2  min -1 ). And the crystalline flakes were separated from starch granules, accompanied by strengthened molecular interactions. HMT starch was transformed from 16.98 μm granules to 158 nm thick and 2.57 μm broad flakes with a 6.40 % increase in crystallinity after 40 min of hydrolysis. For native starch, the HTAH destroyed the crystalline structure due to gelatinization, resulting mainly gelatinous aggregates. These evidenced that the hydrolysis of granular starch was successfully performed at a relatively high temperature by introducing heat-moisture pre-treatment. This study could provide a novel perspective on the combination of increasing temperature and pre-treatment for granular starch hydrolysis intensification design, as well as a strategy for efficiently preparing small-sized crystalline starch, which has promising applications in Pickering emulsion and material filler., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In the present work, the Pickering emulsions with enhanced oxidation stability were fabricated using gliadin (G)/arabinoxylan nanoparticles (GANPs). The influence of different G/AX ratios on the properties of GANPs and corresponding physicochemical characteristics of Pickering emulsions were investigated. Results indicated that the droplet size and ζ-potential of Pickering emulsions declined with the decrease of G/AX ratios. Pickering emulsion with the smallest G/AX ratio (1:4) exhibited excellent oxidative and coalescence stability due to the formation of viscoelastic gel network, which was supported by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images. Furthermore, the increase of salt ions in a lower concentration (0-0.2 M) was conducive to the flocculation of the droplets, while further increasing the NaCl concentration impaired the emulsion stability. Such elements revealed that G/AX complex is a promising stabilizer of Pickering emulsions with prominent antioxidant activity, which have favorable potential applications in protecting the functional properties of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The impact of freeze-thaw cycles on the physicochemical properties and frying performance of frozen Youtiao dough with chemical leavening agent was investigated. The specific volume of Youtiao made from frozen dough decreased by 66% after 4 freeze-thaw cycles. Meanwhile, the hardness and puncture force showed increasing trends, and the fibrous structure became unclear. The extensibility, storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G'') of frozen Youtiao dough decreased during freeze-thaw cycles, while the creep compliance increased. Changes in rheological properties demonstrated that frozen Youtiao dough was more deformable and its strength was weakened. Moreover, the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) extractable protein and free sulfhydryl content increased, revealing that protein was depolymerized. The loose structure with large pores and fractured protein network were observed by micromorphology. Freeze-thaw cycles had a detrimental effect on the Youtiao quality, which was related to the deterioration of rheological properties and protein structure of frozen Youtiao dough., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Antimicrobial polycationic peptide ε-poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) enhanced the freeze-thaw tolerance of industrial yeast; the enhancement mechanism of ε-PL on yeast was studied. Results showed that a ε-PL coating was observed in ε-PL-treated yeast. After 4 times of freeze-thaw, the cell viability, glycerol content, and CO 2 production of 0.6 mg/mL ε-PL-treated yeast were higher than those of untreated yeast, specifically, the cell viability of ε-PL-treated yeast was 87.6%, and that of untreated yeast was 68.5%. Metabolomic results showed that the enhancement mechanism of ε-PL on yeast was related to the promotion of cell membrane-related fatty acid synthesis pathways before freeze-thaw treatment, and the promotion of trehalose biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways after freeze-thaw. Furthermore, ε-PL induced inhibition of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, resulting in a longer stationary phase at the beginning of the freeze-thaw and ultimately providing a higher level of freeze-thaw stress tolerance than untreated yeast., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Gastric glomus tumor (GGT) is a rare neoplasm that is difficult to distinguish from other gastric submucosal tumors due to a lack of diagnostic experience. The goal of this study was to better understand GGT by looking at its clinicopathological features, computed tomography (CT) features, and differential diagnosis., Methods: The clinical data and CT findings of 21 pathologically confirmed GGT patients were examined. The clinical characteristics and CT findings of benign GGT were compared to gastric stromal tumors (GST) (n = 30) and heterotopic pancreas (n = 30)., Results: The 21 cases included six males and fifteen females ranging in age from 42 to 64 years. The lesions were found in the gastric body in four cases and the antrum in seventeen. GGT was diagnosed as benign in 20 cases and malignant in one. In benign cases, the glomus cells were small, uniform, showed perivascular hemangiopericytoma‑like or solid nest‑like structures. Obvious mitotic figures were observed in the malignant case. SMA staining was positive in the tumor cells. A quasi-round or round solid mass protruded into the gastric cavity in 20 benign cases, with a clear and smooth edge. The long to short diameter ratio was 1.01 ± 0.15. All of the benign cases had obvious enhancement, with homogeneous enhancement in ten cases and heterogeneous enhancement in ten cases, as well as central filling enhancement in 12 cases. The ratio of CT value of lesion to abdominal aorta in arterial phase and venous phase were (0.41 ± 0.11) and (0.81 ± 0.20), which were significantly higher than GST and heterotopic pancreas. The irregular mass broke through the gastric wall and invaded liver with poorly defined boundary and internal necrosis, heterogeneous persistent moderate enhancement with thickening blood supply arteries was seen in one malignant case with a long diameter of 150 mm and a thick diameter of 30 mm., Conclusions: CT enhancement usually shows persistent obvious enhancement, especially in arterial phase, which provides important value for the diagnosis. CT findings can help in the differential diagnosis of GGT and other submucosal tumors., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Our current research aims to evaluate the efficiency of a flavor enhancer, maltol (produced by heating ginseng) against cisplatin-evoked cardiotoxicity by establishing cisplatin-induced heart injury in vivo and H9C2 rat cardiomyocyte model. The cisplatin-treated mice at 3 mg/kg for four times on the 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th day, and in them appeared a serious cardiac damage accompanied with the increase in indicators of heart damage. Multiple exposure of 3 mg/kg for four times of cisplatin increased cardiac cells apoptosis with increased expression of Bax and cleaved-caspase 3, and decreased expression of Bcl-2. Interestingly, supplement of maltol at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg for 15 days significantly suppressed the cardiac disturbance. In cultured H9C2 cells, maltol enhanced PI3K/Akt expression level during cisplatin treatment, and reduced cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Notably, inhibition of PI3K/Akt by LY294002 and HY-10249A lessened the efficacy of maltol. In mice, maltol apparently induced PI3K/Akt in heart tissues and protected against cisplatin-induced cardiotoxicity. In conclusion, maltol exerted the protective effects against cisplatin-induced cardiotoxicity, at least partially by inhibiting the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathways in cardiomyocytes, to ease oxidative stress, and alleviate reactive oxygen species-mediated apoptosis., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), one of the most serious complications of diabetes mellitus, is associated with a high amputation rate and decreased life quality. The impact of blood serum proteins on the occurrence and development of DFU has attracted a lot of interest. In this study, we aimed to define and compare the serum proteome of patients with DFU and healthy control (HC) to provide new insights into DFU pathogenesis. DFU patients and age- and sex-matched HCs were enrolled in this study (n = 54). We screened alterations in blood serum proteins from DFU patients and HC using a tandem mass tag (TMT) method based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) quantitative proteomics, and the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were further validated by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total of 173 DEPs (100 up-regulated and 73 down-regulated) were identified between the DFU and HC groups ( P < 0.05). Proteomic and bioinformatics analyses indicated that the proteins in the DFU group were mainly related to extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction and complement and coagulation cascades. The up-regulated DEPs were further verified by PRM and ELISA. LRG1, CD5L, CRP, IGHA1, and LBP were proved upregulated in DFU and these proteins are mainly related to immune response and complement activation. Our findings help to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of DFU and new insight into potential therapeutic targets.

Objective: To compare and evaluate the diagnostic performance of visual evaluation and CT maximal density relative enhancement value in the diagnosis of intestinal ischemia complication in patients with closed loop obstruction and to explore the feasibility of CT maximal density relative enhancement value in quantifying the degrees of intestinal ischemia. Methods: The clinical and CT imaging data of 82 patients, 46 males and 36 females, aged from 19 to 78(52±18) years, with closed loop obstruction were retrospectively analyzed in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from July 2017 to July 2019. All patients were classified into three groups: necrosis group (28 cases), ischemia group (22 cases), non-ischemia group(32 cases) using clinicopathologic results as reference standard. CT visual evaluation was performed by two experienced radiologists. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of the two observers were calculated respectively. The inter-observer agreement was analyzed by kappa analysis. Maximal density relative enhancement value was defined as the difference CT value of an ROI at dilated obstructed loops between contrast-enhanced and unenhanced CT images. The differences among groups were compared by one-way analysis of variance. Diagnostic performances were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of observer1 were 62.0%, 87.5%, 88.6%, 59.6%, 72.0%, and 58.0%, 93.8%, 93.5%, 58.8%, 72.0%for observer2, respectively. The kappa value of inter-observer agreement was 0.747. The unenhanced CT value of necrosis group, ischemia group and non-ischemia group was (53.7±9.7), (45.7±7.2) and (44.7±7.0) HU, enhanced CT value was (60.5±10.1), (65.0±11.6) and (87.0±15.8) HU, relative enhancement value was(6.8±8.4), (19.2±12.4) and(44.7±16.2)HU, respectively. All had a statistical difference among three groups (all P <0.05). The unenhanced CT value of necrosis group was higher than that of ischemia group and un-ischemia group (both P <0.05). The enhanced CT value of non-ischemia group was higher than that of ischemia group and necrosis (both P <0.05). The relative enhancement value all had a significant difference between groups (all P <0.05). Taking maximal density relative enhancement value below 19.5 HU as diagnosis threshold, the sensitivity, specificity and area under curve(AUC) were 96.9%, 74.0% and 0.947, respectively. Taking enhanced CT value below 66.5 HU as diagnosis threshold, the sensitivity, specificity and AUC were 93.8%, 60.0% and 0.903, respectively; the sensitivity was higher than that of objective visual evaluation. Conclusion: Maximal density relative enhancement value can quantize the bowel wall enhancement, and is a more reliable way in the diagnosis of intestinal ischemia than visual evaluation.

Extruded starch could be used as a thickener for food processing due to its pre-gel properties. This study aimed to explore the influence of the addition of extruded endogenous Tartary buckwheat starch (ES) on the process and quality of gluten-free noodles. ES was mixed with Tartary buckwheat flour in different proportions (10-40%) to prepare the blended flour and noodles. When the content of ES was increased, the swelling power of blended flour at 90 °C had no significant changes, and the decrease in peak viscosity of blended flour was reduced. This indicated that the high-content ES could afford better thermal stability for blended flour and inhibit the swelling ability. The higher level of ES was beneficial to the formation and stabilization of dough, and the improvement of noodle tensile strength. Furthermore, there was no difference in cooking loss between noodles with 30% and 40% ES addition. The microstructure and water distribution of the noodles prepared by blended flour indicated that the gel-entrapped structure organized by the higher content ES could be closely related to the above results. In conclusion, higher ES could contribute to improving the processing properties and quality of noodles.

ε-poly-L-lysine treated yeast (PTY) helps to enhance the freeze-thaw tolerance of frozen dough. This study explored the effect of PTY on the aggregation and the gas-retention of frozen dough after steaming for 2, 5, 10, and 20 min. Gas-cell images showed that PTY reduced the loss of gas-retention ability caused by 4 times of freeze-thaw. The results of sodium dodecyl sulfate extractability and subunit distribution of gluten showed that, after the same heat time, frozen dough with PTY has higher degree of covalent crosslinking with better aggregation ability of α-, γ-gliadin, and low molecular weight glutenin subunits than frozen dough with yeast. Chemical analysis and chain morphology results demonstrated that the levels of acidity, NH 2 , and free sulfhydryl in dough were decreased, and the protein molecules aggregated into longer chains when using PTY instead of yeast, indicating that PTY reduced acid-mediated hydrolysis and increased the disulfide bonds-mediated gluten polymerization., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the influence of NaHCO 3 on the water state, gluten polymerization, microstructure and quality of frozen steamed bread dough during freeze-thaw cycles. Results showed that the steamed bread made from alkaline (0.4% NaHCO 3 ) frozen dough possessed a larger specific volume and smaller hardness after 4 freeze-thaw cycles, than the non-alkaline dough group. The addition of NaHCO 3 slowed the increase of freezable water content and water mobility of dough during freeze-thaw cycles, and the high amount of NaHCO 3 (0.4%-1%) showed the great effect. Compared with non-alkaline dough, the sodium dodecyl sulfate extractable protein proportion and free sulfhydryl level of alkaline dough increased less after freeze-thaw cycles, indicating a strengthened freeze-thaw tolerance of alkaline dough. Based on microstructure image and corresponding protein network analysis (PNA) results, the protein area and total protein length in alkaline dough remained at a higher level than non-alkaline group after 4 freeze-thaw cycles., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The lack of gluten in Tartary buckwheat has always been the main limiting factor of their development. This paper explored how to improve the processing quality of gluten-free Tartary buckwheat noodles (GF-TBNs) by introducing extruded starch into Tartary buckwheat flour (TBF) and the underlying mechanism was also elucidated. Extruded Tartary buckwheat starch (ETBS) was obtained under different extrusion conditions. The thermal properties, molecular weight, and viscosity of ETBS were examined to determine the key parameters closely related to the water distribution and rheological properties of the dough sheet, and tensile properties of GF-TBNs. The results showed that ETBS with a low molecular weight and high viscosity contributed greatly to the GF-TBNs with good tensile properties. It is proposed that ETBS with a low molecular weight and high viscosity might form a gel-entrapped network inside GF-TBNs, which was confirmed by the morphology of GF-TBNs., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the changes of lipids during the industrial preparation of noodle dough and dried noodles, including the hydration, sheeting, and drying processes. The results showed that industrial processing markedly influenced the stability of lipids during the preparation of dried noodles. The contents of total free fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and free lipids were reduced, while peroxide values increased during the hydration and sheeting processes, showing the instability of lipids. The increase in lipid oxidation may have been due to the activation of lipoxygenase. Although its activity declined by 45.7% in the hydration process compared to that of the native wheat flour (198.5 ± 20.4 U/g/min), the residue activity should have been high enough to oxidize lipids. Interestingly, lipase activity remained relatively stable. In addition, an obvious increase of carbon-centered free radicals was observed during the entire processing. In conclusion, the industrial processing, especially the hydration process, markedly changed the lipid profile and promoted lipid oxidation during the preparation of dried noodles. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The present study showed the positive relationship between endogenous lipid degrading enzymes and the degradation of lipids and elucidated the role of industrial processing on lipid stability in noodle dough and dried noodles. The results of the present study will also help us to understand more about the sensory quality of dried noodles during preparation, as well as to develop high quality of wheat-based food products., (© 2021 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

The effects of ε-poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) treated yeast on gluten polymerization of frozen dough and quality of steamed bread after freeze-thaw cycles were investigated. Compared with steamed bread made from frozen dough containing ε-PL and untreated yeast (PUTY) or only untreated yeast, steamed bread made from frozen dough containing ε-PL treated yeast (PTY) had a larger specific volume, lower hardness and more porous. A dynamic rheological and scanning electron microscopic analysis demonstrated that using PTY instead of yeast could reduce dough elasticity and damage protein network after freeze-thaw cycles. Lower sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) soluble polymeric proteins and monomeric proteins, and higher SDS insoluble proteins were found in frozen dough containing PTY, which indicates a reduced depolymerization of gluten proteins after freeze-thaw cycles. After 4 freeze-thaw cycles, the lower glutathione and free sulfhydryl in dough containing PTY indicate that the interchain disulfide bonds between proteins were preserved., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Humidity-controlled dehydration (HCD) was innovatively applied in this paper to control the growth of microorganisms in fresh wet noodles (FWN). Effects of HCD treatment with different temperatures (40, 60 or 80 °C), relative humidity (RH, 50%, 70% or 90%) and treatment time (5-32 min) on the total plate count (TPC), the shelf-life, and qualities of FWN were investigated. The results showed that HCD reduced the initial microbial load on the fresh noodles and extended the shelf-life up to 14-15 days under refrigeration temperature (10 °C). A 1.39 log 10 CFU/g reduction for the initial TPC was achieved after HCD treatment at the temperature of 60 °C and RH of 90%. HCD with higher RH had a more positive influence on quality improvement. The L * values, the apparent stickiness, and the cooking properties of the noodle body were improved by HCD while good sensory and texture quality of noodles were still maintained after the dehydration process.

The impacts of protein type, content and polymerization on in vitro starch digestibility of cooked sorghum noodles were investigated. Results showed that addition of exogenous proteins decreased the starch hydrolysis rate. The noodles added wheat protein (WP) exhibited the highest amount of resistant starch, followed by whey protein isolate (WPI) and egg white protein (EWP). In each group, the hydrolysis kinetic parameters were the lowest when protein addition amounts were 5% WP, 3% EWP and 3% WPI, respectively. These changes were ascribed to the interactions of starch-proteins and protein-proteins, as proved by the enhancement of protein polymerization and starch short-range structure. The increase of protein polymerization degree induced by disulfide cross-links reduced the starch digestion rate of noodles. Additionally, the confocal laser scanning microscope observations demonstrated that the strengthening of protein network had a positive effect on decreasing starch digestibility by preventing the accessibility of enzymes to starch., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chinese traditional hand-stretched dried noodle is very popular in China for its unique taste and flavor quality, and NaCl plays a vital role in its processing. The effects of NaCl (1%-6%, w/w) on rheological and gluten properties of dough of Chinese traditional hand-stretched dried noodle were studied. The addition of NaCl (1%-4% w/w) enhanced storage modulus, loss modulus and extensibility of dough, while these rheological parameters started to decreased when NaCl amount reached 5% (w/w). With salt addition increased from 0% to 6% (w/w), the solubility of gluten in SDS medium showed a significant (p < 0.05) decreasing trend, while opposite result was found on the yield and G' of gluten macro polymer. These changes on gluten indicated that the interaction among gluten molecules increased with the increase of salt amount. Excessive salt (5%-6%, w/w) disrupted the gluten network, which was responsible for the reduction of dynamic and extensional properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this paper, sorghum grains were pretreated by roasting (RT), microwave (MW), stir-frying (SF) and heat-moisture treatment (HMT). The effects of pretreated sorghum grains on in vitro starch digestibility of sorghum dried noodles made from sorghum and wheat flour were investigated. The results showed that HMT treated noodles contained the highest amount of resistant starch (RS) and the lowest amount of rapidly digestible starch (RDS). The hydrolysis kinetic parameters and estimated glycemic index (eGI) decreased in all of the treated samples. The treated starches had lower molecular weight and less proportion of short chains of amylopectin than those of the untreated sample. X-ray diffraction demonstrated that the relative crystallinity of starch in noodles was increased by HMT and RT treatments while it was decreased by MW and SF treatments compared to untreated noodles. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed that the short-range ordered degree and intra-molecular hydrogen bond intensity were both enhanced by thermal treatments. A tighter and smoother microstructure with fewer pores and cracks in the treated noodles was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These structural changes could provide a better understanding of the lower starch digestion rate.

In this study, the effects of tempering with steam on the water distribution of wheat grains and the microbial load in wheat flour were investigated, as well as the physicochemical properties of wheat flour. Results showed that when steam treatment time was 320 s, the total plate count (TPC), yeast and mold count (YMC), and mesophilic aerobic spores (MAS) in flour decreased by 1.74, 1.99 and 1.01 lgCFU/g, respectively. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results showed that tempering with steam accelerated the water distribution of grains and significantly (p < 0.05) shortened the tempering time. Moreover, flour yield, particle size, ash content, and damaged starch content of flour were all altered. Furthermore, after tempering with steam, proteins were aggregated and starches were partially gelatinized, which caused dough development time and stability of flour increasing. Collectively, our findings indicated steam tempering could shorten the tempering time and improve the qualities of flour partly., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Acupuncture is a complementary and nonpharmacological intervention that can be effective for the management of chronic pain in addition to or instead of medication. Various animal models for neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, cancer-related pain, and visceral pain already exist in acupuncture research. We used a newly validated human pain model and examined whether acupuncture can influence experimentally induced dental pain. For this study, we compared the impact of manual acupuncture (real acupuncture), manual stimulation of a needle inserted at nonacupuncture points (sham acupuncture) and no acupuncture on experimentally induced dental pain in 35 healthy men who were randomized to different sequences of all 3 interventions in a within-subject design. BORG CR10 pain ratings and autonomic responses (electrodermal activity and heart rate variability) were investigated. An initial mixed model with repeated measures included preintervention pain ratings and the trial sequence as covariates. The results showed that acupuncture was effective in reducing pain intensity when compared to no acupuncture (β = -.708, P = .002), corresponding to a medium Cohen's d effect size of .56. The comparison to the sham acupuncture revealed no statistically significant difference. No differences in autonomic responses between real and sham acupuncture were found during the intervention procedures. PERSPECTIVE: This study established a dental pain model for acupuncture research and provided evidence that experimentally induced dental pain can be influenced by either real acupuncture or manual stimulation of needles at nonacupuncture points. The data do not support that acupoint specificity is a significant factor in reducing experimental pain., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although kidney injury caused by cisplatin has attracted much attention, cisplatin-induced cardiotoxicity is elusive. Our previous studies have confirmed that saponins (ginsenosides) from Panax quinquefolius can effectively reduce acute renal injuries. Our current study aimed to identify the potential effects of saponins from leaves of P. quinquefolius (PQS) on cisplatin-evoked cardiotoxicity., Methods: Mice were intragastrically with PQS at the doses of 125 and 250 mg/kg daily for 15 days. The mice in cisplatin group and PQS + cisplatin groups received four times intraperitoneal injections of cisplatin (3 mg/kg) two days at a time from the 7th day, respectively. All mice were killed at 48 h following final cisplatin injection. Body weights, blood and organic samples were collected immediately., Results: Our results showed that cisplatin-challenged mice experienced a remarkable cardiac damage with obvious histopathological changes and elevation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) concentrations and viabilities in serum. Cisplatin also impaired antioxidative defense system in heart tissues manifested by a remarkable reduction in reduced glutathione (GSH) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, demonstrating the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress. Interestingly, PQS (125 and 250 mg/kg) can attenuate cisplatin-evoked changes in the above-mentioned parameters. Additionally, PQS administration significantly alleviated the oxidation resulted from inflammatory responses and apoptosis in cardiac tissues via inhibition of overexpressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, Bax, and Bad as well as the caspase family members like caspase-3, and 8, respectively., Conclusion: Findings from our present research clearly indicated that PQS exerted significant effects on cisplatin-induced cardiotoxicity in part by inhibition of the NF-κB activity and regulation of PI3K/Akt/apoptosis mediated signaling pathways.

Objectives: Based on previous reports that ginsenosides have been shown to exert better preventive effects on cisplatin-induced kidney injury, the present work aims to evaluate the protective effects of ginsenoside Rb3 (G-Rb3) on cisplatin-induced renal damage and underlying mechanisms in vivo and in vitro., Materials and Methods: The protective effect of G-Rb3 on cisplatin-induced acute renal failure in ICR mouse model and HEK293 cell model was investigated, and the underlying possible mechanisms were also explored. For animal experiment, renal function, kidney histology, inflammation, oxidative stress, relative protein molecules involved in apoptosis and autophagy signalling pathways were assessed. In addition, rapamycin (a specific inhibitor of mTOR), compound C (a specific inhibitor of AMPK) and acetylcysteine (NAC, a specific ROS scavenger) were employed to testify the effects of AMPK/mTOR signal pathway on the protective effects of G-Rb3 in HEK293 cells., Results: Pre-treatment with G-Rb3 at doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg for ten days significantly reversed the increases in serum creatinine (CRE), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and decrease in glutathione (GSH) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Histopathological examination further revealed that G-Rb3 inhibited cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. G-Rb3 diminished cisplatin-induced increase in protein expression levels of p62, Atg3, Atg5 and Atg7, and decrease in protein expression level of p-mTOR and the ratio of LC3-I/LC3-II, indicating that G-Rb3 suppressed cisplatin-induced activation of autophagy. Inhibition of autophagy induced inactivation of apoptosis, which suggested that autophagy played an adverse effect on cisplatin-evoked renal damage. Further, we found that G-Rb3 might potentially modulate the expressions of AMPK-related signal pathways., Conclusions: These findings clearly suggested that G-Rb3-mediated alleviation of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity was in part due to regulation of AMPK-/mTOR-mediated autophagy and inhibition of apoptosis in vitro and in vivo., (© 2019 The Authors. Cell Proliferation Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: To analyze the effect of preset adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V (ASIR-V) on image quality and radiation dose in dual-enhanced abdominal CT and to investigate the optimal ASIR-V in clinic use. Methods: From February 13 to April 30 in 2017, one hundred and eighty patients who received up abdominal CT scan in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were collected prospectively. All patients underwent arterial phase (AP) and portal venous phase (PVP) enhanced abdominal CT(120 kVp, noise index 10) and were randomly divided into 6 groups according to random number table (A-F, 30 cases in each group). In group A-F, 0-50% preset ASIR-V (an interval of 10%) was applied, respectively. Qualitative parameters (subjective image quality, diagnosis confidence and radiation dose) and quantitative parameters[image noise, CT number and contrast to noise ratio (CNR)]were measured and compared among the groups by using one-way analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis H test. Results: The CT dose index volume (CTDIvol) decreased with the increasing of preset ASIR-V. The effective radiation dose (ED) was significant different among groups ( F =27.598, P <0.05), and the ED of group B-F dropped by 10.8%, 21.7%, 31.2%, 44.9% and 61.9% respectively when compared with that in group A. Group E showed the optimal image quality ( Z =18.675, 27.548, 19.761, all P <0.05) and diagnosis confidence( Z =21.387, 17.693, 22.459, all P <0.05) in plain scan, AP and PVP phases. There was no significant differences in image noise and CT value of liver, pancreas and muscle among groups ( F =1.468, 0.337, 0.592, 0.284, all P >0.05). There were significant differences in CNRs in liver and portal vein in PVP phase among the groups ( F =3.980, 4.681, both P <0.05). Conclusion: In abdominal CT, 40% preset ASIR-V can provides the best image quality and it can reduce radiation dose for 44.9%.

Frequent overdose of acetaminophen (APAP) is one of the most common and important incentives of acute hepatotoxicity. Prior to this work, our research group confirmed that black ginseng (Panax ginseng, BG) showed powerful protective effects on APAP-induced ALI. However, it is not clear which kind of individual ginsenoside from BG plays such a liver protection effect. The objective of the current investigation was to evaluate whether ginsenoside Rg5 (G-Rg5) protected against APAP-induced hepatotoxicity and the involved action mechanisms. Mice were administrated with G-Rg5 at two dosages of 10 or 20 mg/kg for 7 consecutive days. After the last treatment, all of the animals that received a single intraperitoneal injection of APAP (250 mg/kg) showed severe liver toxicity after 24 h, and the liver protection effects of G-Rg5 were examined. The results clearly indicated that pretreatment with G-Rg5 remarkably inhibited the production of serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) compared with the APAP group. Meanwhile, G-Rg5 decreased the hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) content, the protein expression levels of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) in the liver tissues. G-Rg5 decreased APAP caused the hepatic overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Furthermore, analysis of immunohistochemistry and Western blotting also indicated that G-Rg5 pretreatment inhibited activation of apoptotic pathways mainly via increasing the expression of Bcl-2 protein, decreasing the expression of Bax protein, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), cytochrome c, caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9. Liver histopathological observation provided further evidence that pretreatment with G-Rg5 could significantly inhibit hepatocyte necrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, and apoptosis caused by APAP. In conclusion, the present study clearly demonstrates that G-Rg5 exerts a liver protection effect against APAP-induced acute hepatotoxicity mainly via a caspase-mediated anti-apoptotic effect.

Erythroderma with complicated etiology is one of the severe skin diseases and has high mortality, of which the incidence was 0.5‰-1.5‰ in skin diseases. Erythrodermic psoriasis (EP) is the commonest type of erythroderma. In addition, there are drug-induced erythroderma, erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses, malignancy-related erythroderma, and idiopathic erythroderma of unknown etiology. Erythroderma of different etiologies has various clinical manifestations, resulting in relevant curative effects and outcomes. In this article, we retrospectively investigated 205 erythroderma patients about clinical symptoms, auxiliary examination and treatments, and evaluated the efficacy and prognosis. There were 84 cases of EP among 205 patients, 10 cases of erythroderma caused by specific drugs, 77 cases of erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses (excluding psoriasis), 7 cases of erythroderma patients suffering from malignancy and 27 cases with unknown causes. We concluded that the etiology of male patients in different age groups had significant difference. The incidence of EP was the highest among all types. The EP was commonly accompanied with hypoproteinemia, and changed into psoriasis vulgaris after treatment. Drug-induced erythroderma was commonly accompanied with fever, and mostly cured by systematic steroid therapy. For erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses, the original dermatoses must be actively treated to achieve a satisfying prognosis. Erythroderma with malignancy or unknown causes had long-term duration, poor response to the treatment, and high potential to relapse. Therefore, clarifying the etiology, providing an appropiate and individual regimen, and regular follow-up are crucial for the successful treatment of erythroderma with unknown causes.

Pilot-scale performances for ultrafiltration of Dongjiang river water without and with micro-coagulation and coagulation-adsorption-sedimentation pretreatments were conducted to investigate the effects of pretreatments on hydraulic irreversible fouling of ultrafiltration short processes. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging, high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) were employed to identify foulants responsible for irreversible fouling during ultrafiltration with and without pretreatments. The results showed that the hydraulic irreversible fouling rate was 0.16 kPa·d -1 with micro-coagulation pretreatment at 10 L·(m 2 ·h) -1 , while the rate without pretreatment was 0.32 kPa·d -1 at the same flux. Meanwhile, the fouling rate with coagulation-adsorption-sedimentation pretreatment was almost zero at the same flux. Furthermore, when the flux increased to 17 L·(m 2 ·h) -1 , the irreversible fouling was not observable with coagulation-adsorption-sedimentation pretreatment (backwashing every 24 hours). Properties of foulants from external membrane and internal membrane after backwashing showed that the protein-like and fulvic-like substances were responsible for irreversible fouling in Dongjiang river water. Furthermore, structural alteration of cake layer resulted in less cake resistance and higher backwash efficiency after micro-coagulation pretreatment, leading to less irreversible fouling. Coagulation-adsorption-sedimentation pretreatment decreased irreversible fouling with higher removal efficiency of protein-like and fulvic substances, which were the foulants responsible for irreversible fouling during ultrafiltration. Both micro-coagulation and coagulation-adsorption-sedimentation pretreatments decreased irreversible fouling during ultrafiltration short process.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and occupational stress have been recognized as major public health concerns. We aimed to explore whether occupational stress was associated with NAFLD in a police population.A total of 6559 male police officers were recruited for this prospective study in April 2007. Among them, 2367 eligible subjects participated in follow-up from 2008 to 2011. NAFLD was diagnosed based on standard criteria. Occupational stress was evaluated by Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised scores.The incidence of NAFLD was 31.2% in the entire police. After adjusting for traditional risk factors, moderate occupational stress (MOS), high occupational stress (HOS), and high personal strain (HPS) were risk factors (MOS: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.237, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.049-1.460; HOS: HR = 1.727, 95% CI = 1.405-2.124; HPS: HR = 3.602, 95% CI = 1.912-6.787); and low occupational stress (LOS) and low personal strain (LPS) were protective factors (LOS: HR = 0.366, 95% CI = 0.173-0.776; LPS: HR = 0.490, 95% CI = 0.262-0.919) for NAFLD in the entire police cohort. HOS and HPS remained robust among traffic police.HOS and HPS were independent predictors for the development of NAFLD in a Chinese police population. Additional future prospective investigations are warranted to validate our findings., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Background and Aims: Colorectal laterally spreading tumors (LSTs) are divided into homogeneous (LST-G-H), nodular mixed (LST-G-M), flat elevated (LST-NG-F), and pseudodepressed (LST-NG-PD) subtypes. We hypothesized that based on the rates of advanced histology, the recurrence rates of the LST-NG-PD and LST-G-M groups may be higher than those of the other subgroups., Methods: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) was performed in 156 patients with a total of 177 LSTs. The clinicopathological features and long-term prognosis of ESD according to specific subtype were investigated., Results: LSTs were most commonly found in the rectum, and the highest percentage of rectal lesions was observed in the LST-G-M group (71.1% vs overall 55.4%, P = .032). The LST-G-M lesions were larger (60 ± 22 mm vs 40 ± 33 mm, P = .034) than the LST-G-H lesions. The LST-G-M group also demonstrated more high-grade intraepithelial neoplasias (32.2% vs 10.8%, P = .003) and submucosal carcinomas (13.6% vs 1.5%, P = .010) compared with the LST-G-H group. The LST-NG-PD group exhibited the highest incidence of submucosally invasive cancer (16.7%). The overall perforation rate was 2.3%. The perforation rate in the LST-NG group was higher than that in the LST-G group (5.7% vs 0.8%, P = .047). All recurrences (7.7%) were found by colonoscopy without any detection of cancers, and no difference was found among the subtypes., Conclusions: No significant differences were observed among subgroups with 44.4 ± 16.3 months of follow-up. Considering that all recurrences were discovered by colonoscopy and most could be cured by repeated ESD, the LSTs of all subgroups require more intensive follow-up compared with smaller adenomatous lesions., (Copyright © 2016 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Seed heteromorphism provides plants with alternative strategies for survival in unfavourable environments. However, the response of descendants from heteromorphic seeds to stress has not been well documented. Suaeda aralocaspica is a typical annual halophyte, which produces heteromorphic seeds with disparate forms and different germination characteristics. To gain an understanding of the salt tolerance of descendants and the impact of seed heteromorphism on progeny of this species, we performed a series of experiments to investigate the plant growth and physiological parameters (e.g. osmolytes, oxidative/antioxidative agents and enzymes), as well as expression patterns of corresponding genes. Results showed that osmolytes (proline and glycinebetaine) were significantly increased and that excess reactive oxygen species ([Formula: see text] H2O2) produced under high salinity were scavenged by increased levels of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase) and corresponding antioxidants (ascorbic acid and glutathione). Moreover, enhancement of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity at high salt intensity had a positive effect on photosynthesis. The descendants from heteromorphic seeds presented no significant difference in performance with or without salinity. In conclusion, we found that high salinity induced the same active physiological responses in plants from heteromorphic seeds of S. aralocaspica, there was no carry-over of seed heteromorphism to plants: all the descendants required salinity for optimal growth and adaptation to their natural habitat., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.)

Objective: Combined spinal-epidural analgesia (CSEA) is sometimes used for difficult births, but whether it contributes to postpartum pelvic muscle disorder is unclear. This randomized controlled trial examined whether CSEA given during labor affects the electrophysiological index of postpartum pelvic floor muscle function., Methods: A consecutive sample of primiparous women who delivered vaginally at term were randomly assigned to a CSEA group (n = 143) and control group (n = 142) between June 2013 and June 2014. All were assessed 6-8 weeks later for electrophysiological function of pelvic floor muscle., Results: The two groups were similar in the degree of muscle strength, muscle fatigue, and pelvic dynamic pressure of pelvic floor muscle. The CSEA and control groups showed similar proportions of women with normal muscle strength (score ≥4) in type I pelvic fibers (23.1% vs. 14.1%, P = 0.051) and type II pelvic fibers (28.0% vs. 24.6%, P = 0.524). The groups also contained similar proportions of women who showed no fatigue in type I fibers (54.5% vs. 48.6%, P = 0.315) or type II fibers (88.8% vs. 87.3%, P = 0.699). Similarly low proportions of women in the CSEA group and control group showed normal pelvic dynamic pressure (11.2% vs. 7.7%, P = 0.321). However, women in the CSEA group spent significantly less time in labor than those in the control group (7.25 vs. 9.52 h, P <0.001)., Conclusions: CSEA did not affect the risk of postpartum pelvic muscle disorder in this cohort of primiparous women who gave birth vaginally. A significant shorter duration of labour was observed in the CSEA-group., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02334150.

Background: Primary insomnia is a common health issue in the modern world. We conducted a systematic review of the auricular therapy, aiming to evaluate whether there are advantages of auricular acupuncture with seed or pellet attachments for the treatment of primary insomnia., Methods: A search of relevant literatures was performed on major medical databases, including Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, CBM, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data and so on. Risk of bias evaluation, meta-analysis, sensitivity analysis and evidence rating of all extracted information were conducted also., Results: A total of 1381 records were identified, with 15 studies deemed eligible for the present review. Meta-analyses were conducted in two comparisons separately: participants received auricular acupuncture were more likely to make an improvement in clinical effective rate (RR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.83), sleep duration (MD = 56.46, 95% CI 45.61 to 67.31), sleep efficiency(MD = 12.86, 95% CI 9.67 to 16.06), global score on PSQI (MD = -3.41, 95% CI -3.93 to -2.89), number of awakenings( MD = -3.27, 95% CI -6.30 to -0.25) and sleep onset latency(MD = -10.35, 95% CI -14.37 to -6.33) when compared to sham auricular acupuncture or placebo; while in auricular acupuncture VS medications comparison, a better effective rate (RR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.34), better sleep efficiency(MD = 21.44, 95% CI 16.30 to 26.58), lower PSQI score (MD = -3.62, 95% CI -4.59 to -2.65) and less adverse effect (RR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.26) can be seen also in auricular acupuncture group. Although these results suggested benefits of auricular acupuncture, the overall quality of evidence rated by the GRADE system was low., Conclusion: Statistical analyses of the outcomes revealed a positive effect of auricular acupuncture for primary insomnia. Nonetheless, considering the poor methodological quality, insufficient sample size and possible publication bias, current evidence is not yet adequate to provide a strong support for the use of auricular acupuncture in the treatment of primary insomnia. More strictly designed clinical studies will be needed to obtain a more explicit conclusion.

Abdominoperineal resection (APR) and sphincter-preserving resection (SPR) are the two primary surgical options for rectal cancer. Retrospectively we collected rectal cancer patients for SPR and APR observation between 2005 and 2007. The patient-related, tumor-related, and surgery-related variables of the SPR and APR groups were analyzed by using logistic regression techniques. The mean distance from the anal verge (DAV) of cancer is significantly higher in SPR than that in APR (P<0.001). In cancers with DAV<40 mm (SPR, 40 versus APR, 110), multivariate analysis shows that surgeon procedure volume (odds ratio [OR]=0.244; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.077-0.772; P=0.016) and neoadjuvant radiotherapy (OR=0.031; 95% CI: 0.002-0.396; P=0.008) are factors influencing SPR. In cancers with DAV ranging from 40 mm to 59 mm (SPR 190 versus APR 50), analysis shows that patient age (OR=2.139; 95% CI: 1.124-4.069; P=0.021), diabetes (OR=2.657; 95% CI: 0.872-8.095; P=0.086), and colorectal surgeon (OR=0.122, 95% CI: 0.020-0.758; P=0.024), are influencing factors for SPR. The local recurrence and disease-free survival reveal no significant difference. A significant difference exists in DAV, surgeon specialization, procedure volume, age, diabetes, and neoadjuvant radiotherapy between SPR and APR.

Anastomotic dehiscence (AD) requiring reoperation is the most severe complication following anterior rectal resection. We performed a systematic review on studies that describe AD requiring reoperation and its subsequent mortality after anterior resection for rectal carcinoma. A systematic search was performed on published literature. Data on the definition and rate of AD, the number of ADs requiring reoperation, the mortality caused by AD, and the overall postoperative mortality were pooled and analyzed. A total of 39 studies with 24,232 patients were analyzed. The studies varied in incidence and definition of AD. Systematic review of the data showed that the overall rate of AD was 8.6%, and the rate of AD requiring reoperation was 5.4%. The postoperative mortality caused by AD was 0.4%, and the overall postoperative mortality was 1.3%. We found considerable risk and mortality for AD requiring reoperation, which largely contributed to the overall postoperative mortality.

Background: It has been speculated that zinc finger protein 148 (ZNF148) is a tumor suppressor. However, to the authors' knowledge, little is known about the clinical significance of ZNF148 expression in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The objective of the current study was to clarify the association between ZNF148 expression and the postoperative prognosis of patients with CRC., Methods: Tissue microarrays containing 56 normal mucosa, 51 adenoma, 742 CRC (TNM stage I-IV), 16 familial adenomatous polyposis, and 21 metastatic CRC specimens were examined immunohistochemically for ZNF148 expression., Results: Expression of ZNF148 was found to increase consecutively from normal mucosa to stage I CRC, and then decreased consecutively from stage I to stage IV CRC. Lower expression of ZNF148 in tumors was found to be significantly associated with lymph node metastases, advanced TNM disease stage, poor differentiation, higher rate of disease recurrence, worse overall survival (OS), and shorter disease-free survival. High expression of ZNF148 was also associated with improved OS (P = .025) and disease-free survival (P = .042) in patients with stages II to III CRC. On multivariate Cox analysis, lower ZNF148 expression in tumors, advanced TNM stage, colon cancer, and elevated serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) were found to be significant factors for a worse OS. In 16 patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, ZNF148 expression was upregulated at steps toward carcinogenesis. In 21 patients with metastatic CRC, although ZNF148 expression was higher in primary tumors compared with adjacent mucosa, its expression in metastatic tumors was significantly lower than that in primary tumors., Conclusions: Although ZNF148 expression is related to colorectal carcinogenesis, high ZNF148 expression in patients with CRC appears to be inversely associated with malignant phenotypes and may serve as a significant prognostic factor after surgery for patients with CRC., (Copyright © 2013 American Cancer Society.)

Acupuncture, as a modality treatment, has gained increasing popularity and acceptance between public and health-care professionals worldwide. Recently, there has been intensive debate about the efficacy of acupuncture therapy due to the conflicting outcome of clinical trials. Acupoint specificity was regarded as one of the core scientific issues with respect to acupuncture practice at the Society for Acupuncture Research international symposium held in 2007. In this chapter, we reviewed the recent development in basic science and clinical studies on the role of acupoint specificity. The evidence cumulated from brain imaging and many biological studies showed that the point specificity in acupuncture does exist, although acupoint specificity-related issues such as sham acupoint and placebo phenomenon need to be seriously considered. How to optimize the efficacy of acupoint and minimize the impact of sham acupuncture is an urgent issue faced by acupuncture community, and more studies are warranted on the subjects., (© 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The acupuncture has been practiced in China for more than 3000 years and was spread to Europe and American from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. The history of acupuncture research was initiated in the eighteenth century and developed rapidly since then. In the past, physicians tried hard to apply acupuncture into clinical practice, while scientists were focused on the possible characteristics of acupoints and meridians. In the modern time, scientists have strived hard to evaluate the real effectiveness of acupuncture and the underlying physiological and biological mechanisms of acupuncture. Reviewing research history from past to present, we are delighted to witness this wonderful development. Accumulated evidences that acupuncture is beneficial in various conditions significantly enhanced our understanding the mechanisms of acupuncture treatment. However, there is still no conclusive evidence in acupuncture clinical studies. The clinical research still needs great improving, while the basic research results need to be appropriately transformed into clinical outcomes. Based on current achievements, we believe that although the challenges and difficulties exist, a more collaborative, innovative, and integrated approach will help us to achieve further progress in future acupuncture research., (© 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To explore the applicability of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for diagnosis of pyramidal tract damage in rats., Methods: Marmarou's model was set up, followed by DTI scanning at 3, 12, 24 and 72 h post trauma to acquire the dispersion parameter of bilateral pyramidal tracts. Moreover, axonal varicosities per square millimeter and the percentage of positive area of axons demonstrated by beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta-APP) immunostaining were obtained, as well as the mean density and sum density of neurofilament (NF) 68 immunostaining., Results: Axial diffusivity (AD), fraction anisotropy (FA) and relative anisotropy (RA) in the pyramidal tract were significantly and continuously reduced and reached to the bottom at 72h post trauma (P < 0.05) in accord with the gradient of axonal damage verified by beta-APP and NF68 immunostaining. Furthermore, the changes of AD, FA and RA showed a significant negative correlation with the beta-APP immunohistochemical results., Conclusion: DTI has important value for early diagnosis in pyramidal tract damage.

Lung cancer metastasis-related protein 1 (LCMR1) is a critical subunit of the mediator complex, and plays an important role in the elaborate regulation of gene transcription. However, the functional role of LCMR1 in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has not been clarified. In this study, LCMR1 expression in CRC specimens was quantified by using the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method. The effect of downregulation of LCMR1 by lentivirus-mediated small hairpin RNA (shRNA) on CRC cell proliferation and tumorigenesis was explored. There was a higher expression of LCMR1 in CRC tissue in comparison with adjacent normal colon tissue (P < 0.05). LCMR1 gene was effectively knocked down in human CRC RKO and DLD-1 cells that infected with lentivirus delivering shRNA against LCMR1, which resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation and augmentation of G0/G1 phase proportion. Moreover, the tumorigenicity of RKO cells was also dramatically inhibited after LCMR1 was knocked down. In conclusion, our results suggest that LCMR1 promotes CRC cell growth, and lentivirus-mediated silencing of LCMR1 may contribute to the gene therapy for CRC.

The function of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) UL4 protein is still elusive. Our objective is to investigate the subcellular transport mechanism of the UL4 protein. In this study, fluorescence microscopy was employed to investigate the subcellular localization of UL4 and characterize the transport mechanism in living cells. By constructing a series of deletion mutants fused with enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP), the nuclear export signals (NES) of UL4 were for the first time mapped to amino acid residues 178 to 186. In addition, the N-terminal 19 amino acids are identified to be required for the granule-like cytoplasmic pattern of UL4. Furthermore, the UL4 protein was demonstrated to be exported to the cytoplasm through the NES in a chromosomal region maintenance 1 (CRM1)-dependent manner involving RanGTP hydrolysis.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a highly complex multi-factorial disorder. Animal models of TBI are used to elucidate primary and secondary injury mechanisms and pathophysiological changes and to provide the diagnostic and therapeutical basis for TBI. The choices of animal models depend upon the research objectives. However, various animal models have limitations. The models only can duplicate the pivotal injury mechanisms or a certain important pathophysiological course. The characteristics of human TBI can not fully be reflected by using these models. In the review, animal models of traumatic brain injury are classified as dynamic direct brain injury, indirect dynamic brain injury and combined neuro-traumatic models. Several common models are described for consideration.

Objective: To observe the homing and differentiation of marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) transplanted intravenously in smoke inhalation injured rabbits., Methods: Thirty-two New Zealand big ear rabbits were divided into normal control group (NC), inhalation injury group (II), normal control + MSC treatment group (NM), and MSC treatment group (MT) according to the random number table, with 8 rabbits in each group. Rabbits in NC group were injected with 10 mL phosphate buffered saline (PBS) via ear marginal vein. Rabbits in NM group were injected with 10 mL PBS containing the third generation MSC labeled by BrdU (1 × 10(7) per 10 mL PBS) via ear marginal vein. Severe smoke inhalation injury model was reproduced in the other two groups, among them rabbits in II group were treated as rabbits in NC group, rabbits in MT group treated as rabbits in NM group. On the 7th and 28th day post treatment (PTD), lung tissue and trachea tissue were harvested from four groups for observation on injury with HE staining. Homing of MSC in injured tissue was observed with immunohistochemistry staining. The differentiation of MSC into functional cells was observed with immunohistochemical double staining of combining nuclear marker BrdU with lung (trachea) membrane-specific marker aquaporin-5 (AQP-5), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), CD34, and cytokeratin respectively., Results: (1) MSC homing in lung and trachea tissue was observed in MT group on PTD 7, which was not observed in NM group. (2) AQP-5, AKP, and CD34 positive MSC were observed in lung tissue in MT group on PTD 28, while cytokeratin positive MSC was not observed in trachea tissue. No positively marked MSC was observed in NM group. (3) Injury in lung and trachea was less severe in MT group than in II group; and the proliferation of fibroblasts was less in MT group., Conclusions: Intravenous injection of MSC to rabbits with smoke inhalation injury can migrate to lung and trachea tissue at obviously inflammatory site, and differentiate into alveolar epithelial cells typeI and II, and pulmonary vascular endothelial cells, which may participate in the process of tissue repair in smoke inhalation injury.

The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) tegument protein VP22 encoded by the UL49 gene is essential for HSV-1 infection. However, its precise functions in the virus life cycle are unknown. A relatively important tool for disclosing these functions is an antiserum specifically detecting VP22 in the infected cell. To this end, a recombinant truncated VP22 protein consisting of C-terminal 45 aa fused to EYFP (enhanced yellow fluorescent protein) and His-tag was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified by the Ni2+-NTA affinity chromatography, and used for the preparation of antiserum in rabbits. Western blot and immunofluorescence assay showed that this antiserum specifically detected purified truncated VP22 as well as full-length VP22 in the HSV-1 infected cells. These results indicate that the prepared antiserum could serve as a valuable tool for further studies of VP22 functions.