Abstract Palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7, POA), a 16-carbon ω-7 monounsaturated functional fatty acid, has been demonstrated a variety of beneficial properties to human health and a wide range of applications in nutrition, medical and chemical industries. Lipozyme® RM IM (Rhizomucor Miehei lipase), a Sn-1,3 specific lipase, was used to catalyze the hydrolysis of seabuckthorn fruit oil and produce monoglycates rich in palmitoleic acid. The fruit oil of seabuckthorn was used as the research object, the dosage of enzyme taking 10% wt.% oil, the influence of water/oil ratio, pH value and reaction temperature to hydrolysis rate were investigated, and then the response surface methodology was applied for optimizing the process conditions. Further, the relationship between the hydrolysis rate and the content of monoacylglycerol was studied under the optimal hydrolysis conditions. The result indicated that the optimal combined condition is as follows: the reaction temperature is 55°C, the pH is 7, the water-oil quality ratio is 1:1. The hydrolysis rate achieved 79.59% within 12 h in the condition above. Under the optimal conditions, the hydrolysis rate was positively correlated with the content of monoester, and the correlation coefficient was 0.999 within the first 10 h of the reaction. The hydrolysis rate was 66.76% at 10 h, and the content of monoglyceride reached the highest of 61.11%. Hereafter, the hydrolysis of monoglyceride began if the reaction continued. The content of palmitoleic acid increased from 27.11% to 40.84%, and that of linoleic acid increased from 4.51% to 33.34%, so the total amount of the two functional fatty acids reached 74.18%. Enzymatic hydrolysis can be an effective way to improve the function of seabuckthorn fruit oil.

As an important component of solid tumors, mast cells show specific phenotypes in various tumor microenvironments. However, the precise mechanism of mast cell accumulation and the phenotypic features of thyroid cancer (TC) remain largely unknown. Here, we found that mast cells were obviously recruited to tumor tissue by TC-derived stem cell factor (SCF). With tumor progression, mast cell levels increased gradually. In addition, intratumoral mast cells expressed higher levels of the immunosuppressive molecule galectin-9, which effectively suppresses CD8+ T-cell antitumor immunity in vitro. Blocking galectin-9 on tumor-infiltrating mast cells reversed the immunosuppression of CD8+ T cells. In conclusion, our data elucidated novel protumorigenic and immunosuppressive roles of mast cells in TC. In addition, our results indicated that blocking mast cells may impede tumor progression and ameliorate the prognosis of TC patients.

Abstract This work studied the effects of different time and temperature combinations [100 °C for 50 min (T1), 110 °C for 50 min (T2), 118 °C for 50 min (T3) and 121 °C for 30 min (T4)] of sterilization on the sensory quality and lipid oxidation of Dezhou braised chicken. Compared to T1, T3 and T4 groups, the T2 group had the highest colour and lower hardness. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the electronic-tongue results showed that there were distinct differences in taste between the treatment groups. Free amino acids (FAA) analysis showed that the T2 group had the highest amino acid contents. In summary, the T2 might be a more reasonable sterilization condition for Dezhou braised chicken, due to its positive effects on maintaining sensory quality. The results of this study could guide Dezhou braised chicken industry to produce better quality products.

Abstract In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the effects of proportions of raw materials on the antioxidant activities of juices comprising mixtures of apples and berries (mixed juice; MJ). Among the four juices added, Acanthopanax sessiliflorus juice (ASJ) and its interaction with other juices had the most influence on the antioxidant activities. The MJ was optimized by blending 30% apple juice (AJ), 5% raspberry juice (RJ), 20% BJ, and 20% ASJ with 25% water. Sensory evaluation (SE) scores, scavenging rates of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) in MJ were 89.67%, 64.80%, and 73.30%, respectively. The results of electronic tongue (e-Tongue) analysis show that the MJ reduced sourness, astringency and bitterness and improved sensory acceptance. Total phenolic content (TPC) and free radical scavenging activities in MJ was also increased compared with individual component juices. These findings should provide guidance for formulating new apple/berry compound juices.

Abstract To explore the effect of Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) mode in the diagnosis and treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pneumonia. A total of 65 patients with suspected COVID-19 pneumonia were included. On February 8, 2020, our hospital officially became a designated hospital for the treatment of COVID-19, and the MDT mode was implemented throughout the diagnosis and treatment for newly admitted patients with suspected COVID-19. The patients were divided into control group and observation group according to whether received MDT mode. Our results showed that the diagnosis time in the observation group was significantly shortened than that in the control group (2.51 days vs. 3.47 days) (p < 0.05). The average daily hospitalization costs in the observation group was significantly decreased in comparison with the control group (¥766.1 vs. ¥1190.4) (p < 0.001). The average daily cost of protective materials in the observation group was significantly reduced in comparison with the control group (¥4226.90 vs. ¥5308.20) (p < 0.001). Compared with the control group, the subjective symptoms of patients in the observation group were significantly improved (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the MDT mode shortens the diagnosis time of, reduces the hospitalization costs, and improves the subjective symptoms of COVID-19.

Abstract The contents of total phenol and flavonoid of 27 edible plants as well as their antioxidative and digestive enzymes inhibitory activities were evaluated. The total phenol content of the 27 plants ranged from 1.28-46.80 mg gallic acid equivalent/g. DPPH, ABTS and reducing power assay explored that Rubus idaeus Linn, Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. and Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. exhibited stronger antioxidant capacity among the 27 plants. 4 plants showed inhibitory percentage more than 50% on pancreatic lipase. 10 plants showed inhibitory percentage more than 50% on α-glucosidase. 3 plants simultaneously possess significant inhibitory activities on pancreatic lipase and α-glucosidase, which were Alpinia officinarum Hance, Ginkgo biloba Linn. leaves and Vitis vinifera Linn. Seeds. Strong positive correlation between total phenol content and antioxidative capacity were found. However, digestive enzymes inhibitory activity was less correlated with total phenol and total flavonoids content.

Abstract Numerous studies have demonstrated that Radix Astragali can inhibit gastric ulcers in mice. Anhydrous ethanol (0.01 mL/g) administered to mice by intragastric infusion can induce gastric ulcer injury. This study was performed to compare the stomach tissue distribution profiles of four major bioactive constituents of Radix Astragali(calycosin-7-O-β-d-glucoside, calycosin, ononin and formononetin) after oral administration of extract of Radix Astragali (ERA)in normal and gastric ulcer mice. The abundance of Radix Astragali constituents was determined using an ultra-pressure liquid chromatograph with a photodiode array detector (UPLC-PDA), after which histograms were drawn. In comparison with normal mice, the contents of calycosin- 7-O-β-d-glucoside, calycosin, ononin and formononetin in the stomach tissue samples of gastric ulcer mice showed significant differences at the selected time points (P < 0.05).The abundance of each of the four tested constituents in the normal groups was higher than that of the gastric ulcer groups. This study provides an empirical foundation for future studies focused on developing clinical applications of Radix Astragali.

Abstract Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), one of the main pathogens responsible for refractory periapical periodontitis and nosocomial infections, exhibits markedly higher pathogenicity in biofilms. Objectives Studies have shown that caseinolytic protease P (ClpP) is involved in biofilm formation. However, to date, few studies have investigated the role of ClpP in the survival of E. faecalis, and in enhancing biofilm formation. Therefore, we investigated the role of ClpP in the formation of E. faecalis biofilms. Methodology In our study, we used homologous recombination to construct clpP deleted and clpP complement strains of E. faecalis ATCC 29212. A viable colony counting method was used to analyze the growth patterns of E. faecalis. Crystal violet staining (CV) and confocal scanning laser microscopy (CLSM) were used to characterize biofilm mass formation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the biofilm microstructure. Data was statistically analyzed via Student’s t-test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results The results exhibited altered growth patterns for the clpP deletion strains and depleted polysaccharide matrix, resulting in reduced biofilm formation capacity compared to the standard strains. Moreover, ClpP was observed to increase biofilm formation in E. faecalis. Conclusion Our study shows that ClpP can increase biofilm formation in E. faecalis and emphasizes the importance of ClpP as a potential target against E. faecalis.

OBJECTIVES: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. However, factors associated with the survival of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received only hospice care are largely unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine the prognostic factors correlated with survival in patients with advanced NSCLC who had undergone hospice care only. METHODS: A total of 102 patients with recurrent stage III/IV NSCLC after traditional treatment failure were investigated. Survival was measured from the date of enrollment to December 2019 or the time of death. Tumor tissues were collected, and DNA sequencing was performed to identify somatic mutations. Data on clinical factors of patients were collected and analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses. Overall survival analysis was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year overall survival rates of the 102 patients with metastatic NSCLC were 17.65%, 3.92%, and 0.98%, respectively. The median overall survival of the 102 patients was 3.15 months. Tumor location in the peripheral lung, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor history, low tumor mutation load, adenocarcinoma, and poor performance status score were associated with prolonged survival compared with tumor location in the central lung, no EGFR inhibitor history, high tumor mutation load, squamous cell carcinoma, and good performance status score (p=0.045, p=0.003, p=0.045, p=0.021, and p=0.0003, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: EGFR inhibitor treatment history and tumor mutation load are risk factors for the overall survival of patients with stage III/IV NSCLC who have undergone only hospice care. These results provide a critical clinical basis for further study of nontraditional anti-tumor responses induced by EGFR inhibitors.

Abstract The volatile components of fruits of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer analyzed to interpret whether fruits color affect volatile components. The volatile components in ginseng fruits cultured with 3 different clolors such as red fruits, yellow fruits and orange fruits were isolated by head-space solid-phase microextraction fiber (polydimethylsiloxane 100 μm) and identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Then, the volatile components compared by principal component analvsis (PCA). As the results, the 23 voltile components were identified from 3 colors samples and consisted mainly of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. The differences among the different colors of the samples were obvious from the PC1 and PC2 scatter point plot. As the conclusion, The volatile components of ginseng fruits are different from those of ginseng roots. the fruits colors can affect to produce the volatile components of ginseng fruits.

Abstract Accumulating evidence over the last two decades has established the causal role of a unidirectional orthography in shaping speakers, mental representations of time. Casasanto and Bottini (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143, 473-479, 2014) extended previous findings by showing that exposure to mirror-reversed orthography of speakers' native language could completely redirect their mental timelines within minutes. However, the question of whether such a causal effect of writing direction on temporal cognition can be identified in speakers whose native languages adopt bidirectional orthographies remains underexplored in the literature. To address this issue, the present study focused on Japanese which uses bidirectional writing systems, one proceeding horizontally from left to right (HLR) and one vertically from top to bottom (VTB). Two experiments were performed, and the tasks asked participants to process standard/mirror orthography prime questions about time arranged horizontally or vertically, followed by horizontal or vertical arrays of pictorial target stimuli about temporal relations. Results demonstrated that Japanese speakers encoded passage of time into a top-to-bottom linear path commensurate with the VTB writing direction, but they did not align their mental representations of time with the HLR writing orientation. Accordingly, exposure to mirror-reversed bidirectional orthographies redirected Japanese speakers' vertical but not horizontal space-time mappings. Theoretical implications concerning the causal effects of bidirectional orthographies and the generalizability of the representational flexibility of time maintained by Casasanto and Bottini (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143,473-479) are discussed.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether thawing rate could be a novel predictor of acute pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) and explore the predictive value of thawing rate as a factor ensuring long-term PVI (vagus reflex). METHODS: A total of 151 patients who underwent cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) were enrolled in this retrospective study between January 2017 and June 2018. The thawing rate was calculated using the thawing phase of the cryoablation curve. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of the thawing rate for acute PVI and vagus reflex. RESULTS: ROC curve analyses revealed that the interval thawing rate at 15°C (ITR15) was the most valuable predictor of PVI, with the highest area under curve (AUC) value of the ROC curve. The best cut-off value of ITR15 for PVI was ≤2.14°C/S and its sensitivity and specificity were 88.62% and 67.18%, respectively. In addition, the ITR15 of the successful PVI group after cryoballoon ablation was significantly slower than the failed PVI group. ITR15 was a predictor of vagus reflex and the occurrence of vagus reflex group had a slower ITR15 compared to the non-occurrence group. CONCLUSIONS: Thawing rate was a novel predictor of acute PVI and the ITR15 was the most valuable predictor of acute PVI. In addition, ITR15 was a predictive factor ensuring long-term PVI (vagus reflex). Our study showed that thawing rate may serve in the early identification of useless cryoballoon ablation.

Abstract Klotho is originally discovered as an anti-aging gene and knock-out of klotho accelerates aging in mice. Subsequent studies support the anti-carcinogenesis role of klotho in a variety of human malignancies. The present study investigated the role of klotho on growth and metastasis of osteosarcoma cells. The osteosarcoma cells were transduced with lentivirus particles encoding klotho or scramble control. The reconstructed osteosarcoma cells were injected into the femoral medullary cavity of nude mice to establish a xenograft animal model. The anti-tumor properties of klotho were evaluated in terms of tumor growth, apoptosis, glycogen production, and pulmonary metastasis. Lentivirus-mediated overexpression of klotho significantly decreased tumor volume and weight in osteosarcoma mice. Determination of PCNA and Ki67 expression revealed that overexpression of klotho inhibited cell proliferation in tumor tissues obtained from osteosarcoma xenografts. PAS staining also showed that overexpression of klotho significantly decreased the production of glycogen in osteosarcoma. Moreover, TUNEL positive cells were significantly increased after lentivirus-mediated overexpression of klotho. Furthermore, lentivirus-mediated upregulation of klotho reduced the number of pulmonary metastatic lesions in mice compared to control mice. These findings demonstrated that elevated klotho could inhibit osteosarcoma cell growth and pulmonary metastasis in vivo, suggesting that klotho may be a valuable therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening illness characterized by a complex pathophysiology, involving not only the respiratory system but also nonpulmonary distal organs. Although advances in the management of ARDS have led to a distinct improvement in ARDS-related mortality, ARDS is still a life-threatening respiratory condition with long-term consequences. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of this condition will allow us to create a personalized treatment strategy for improving clinical outcomes. In this article, we present a general overview p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and recent advances in understanding its functions. We consider the potential of the pharmacological targeting of p38MAPK pathways to treat ARDS.

OBJECTIVES: Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) affect the elderly population, especially postmenopausal women. Percutaneous kyphoplasty is designed to treat painful vertebral compression fractures for which conservative therapy has been unsuccessful. High-viscosity cement can be injected by either a hydraulic pressure delivery system (HPDS) or a balloon tamp system (BTS). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the safety and clinical outcomes of these two systems. METHODS: A random, multicenter, prospective study was performed. Clinical and radiological assessments were carried out, including assessments of general surgery information, visual analog scale, quality of life, cement leakage, and height and angle restoration. RESULTS: Using either the HPDS or BTS to inject high-viscosity cement effectively relieved pain and improved the patients’ quality of life immediately, and these effects lasted at least two years. The HPDS using high-viscosity cement reduced cost, surgery time, and radiation exposure and showed similar clinical results to those of the BTS. In addition, the leakage rate and the incidence of adjacent vertebral fractures after the HPDS treatment were reduced compared with those after treatment using the classic vertebroplasty devices. However, the BTS had better height and angle restoration abilities. CONCLUSIONS: The percutaneous HPDS with high-viscosity cement has similar clinical outcomes to those of traditional procedures in the treatment of vertebral fractures in the elderly. The HPDS with high-viscosity cement is better than the BTS in the treatment of mild and moderate OVCFs and could be an alternative method for the treatment of severe OVCFs.