Abstract Aim: to investigate the effects of low sodium formula salt combined with the Chinese Modified Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet on cerebrovascular function in patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Methods: an eight-week single-arm trial was conducted in 66 patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes to investigate effects of low sodium formula salt (potassium chloride 56 %, sodium chloride 23 %, 5 g/day) combined with Chinese Modified DASH diet on cerebrovascular function (measured by transcranial Doppler sonography), indicators of chronic diseases (blood pressure, blood glucose and blood lipids) and urinary excretion. The above indicators were performed before and after intervention. Results: fifty-nine subjects completed the study. Peak systolic velocity, mean flow velocity, end-diastolic velocity, pulsatility index and resistance index of internal cerebral artery and vertebral artery decreased significantly (p < 0.05); pulsatility index and resistance index of anterior cerebral artery and middle cerebral artery decreased significantly (p < 0.05); and end-diastolic velocity and pulsatility index of basilar artery decreased significantly (p < 0.05). Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and postprandial blood glucose decreased significantly (p < 0.001; p < 0.001; p < 0.001; p < 0.001). Blood pressure and blood glucose control rates increased significantly (p < 0.001). Conclusions: based on the study, 23 % low-sodium formula combined with CM-DASH diet pattern can improve cerebrovascular function in community patients with hypertension complicated with diabetes and has a good short-term benefit of blood pressure and glucose control.

Resumen Objetivo: investigar los efectos de una sal baja en sodio combinada con la versión china de la dieta DASH (del inglés Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) modificada en la función cerebrovascular en pacientes con hipertensión y diabetes tipo 2. Métodos: en 66 pacientes con hipertensión y diabetes tipo 2 se llevó a cabo un ensayo de ocho semanas para investigar los efectos de la sal baja en sodio (cloruro de potasio 56 %, cloruro de sodio 23 %, 5 g/día) combinada con la dieta DASH en su versión china modificada en la función cerebrovascular (medido por sonografía Doppler transcraneal), los indicadores de enfermedades crónicas (presión arterial, glucosa sanguínea y lípidos sanguíneos) y la excreción urinaria. Los indicadores anteriores se midieron antes y después de la intervención. Resultados: cincuenta y nueve sujetos completaron el estudio. La velocidad sistólica máxima, la velocidad media del flujo, la velocidad diastólica final, el índice de pulsatilidad y el índice de resistencia de la arteria cerebral anterior y la arteria vertebral disminuyeron significativamente (p < 0,05); el índice de pulsatilidad y el índice de resistencia de la arteria cerebral anterior y la arteria media disminuyeron significativamente (p < 0,05); y la velocidad diastólica final y el índice de pulsatilidad de la arteria basilar disminuyeron significativamente (p < 0,05). La presión arterial sistémica, la presión arterial diastólica, la glucosa arterial en ayuno y la glucemia posprandial disminuyeron significativamente (p < 0,001, p < 0,001, p < 0,001, p < 0,001). La presión arterial y las tasas de control de glucosa en sangre aumentaron significativamente (p < 0,001). Conclusiones: la fórmula de sal con un 23 % de sodio combinada con la dieta DASH en su versión china modificada puede mejorar la función cerebrovascular en pacientes comunitarios con hipertensión complicada por la diabetes y es beneficiosa a corto plazo para la presión arterial y el control de la glucosa.

ABSTRACT Objective: An increasing amount of literature indicates that the serum calcium level may be related to metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the serum calcium level and MetS in adults in Taiwan. Subjects and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study and enrolled 1,580 participants (54.4% women; mean age, 33.28 ± 12.21 years) who underwent health examinations in northern Taiwan between 2012 and 2016. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of MetS and its components in groups of patients in the tertiles of the serum calcium level. Results: In total, 167 participants (10.6%) had MetS. The odds of high systolic blood pressure (BP), blood glucose, and triglyceride (TG) levels significantly increased as the serum calcium level increased. Compared with the participants in the lowest tertile of the serum calcium level (tertile 1), those in the second tertile (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 0.97-2.23) and third tertile (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.06-2.53) had a significantly higher risk of MetS. Further analyses revealed a significant association between MetS and an increased serum calcium level in those in the overweight and obese groups. However, there was no association between the serum calcium levels and MetS in those in the normal weight group. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that a higher serum calcium level is associated with an increased risk of MetS and its components in adults with overweight and obesity.

Abstract In this study, whole wheat flour (WWF) was prepared by blending one commercial noodle flour with ten different bran samples from white and red winter wheat varieties. The whole wheat dough properties and noodle qualities were investigated. In general, brans from red wheat varieties exhibited higher total phenolic contents than those from white wheat varieties. Mixolab analysis revealed significant relationships between bran ash, starch, and insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) contents and the mixing and pasting properties of WWF dough. Concerning the noodle quality, bran protein content showed a positive correlation with tensile strength (P < 0.01), elongation distance, springiness, and resilience of cooked noodles. Also, bran IDF content was positively related to the hardness of cooked whole-wheat noodles. These results suggest that bran with higher protein content and lower IDF content is more desirable for the production of whole wheat noodles.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to observe its in vitro inhibitory effect on human thyroid cancer cell line SW579 through PI3K-Akt pathway. In this study, the survival of cells and the inhibitory effect of gardenia tea extract (GTE) on SW579 cancer cells were firstly observed by MTT method. Further qPCR experiments were used to observe mRNA expression in SW579 cancer cells. The active compound composition in the GTE was then also determined by HPLC. The experimental results showed that GTE had almost no effect on normal primary thyroid cells and had no toxic effect, but GTE could significantly inhibit the proliferation of SW579 cancer cells. The detection of mRNA expression in SW579 cancer cells showed that GTE could up-regulate the expressions of Bax, caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 and down-regulate the expressions of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, PI3K and Akt in SW579 cancer cells. The chemical composition test showed that GTE mainly contains three compounds, namely rutin, quercetin and phloretin. It can be seen that gardenia tea can regulate the PI3K-Akt pathway of SW579 cancer cells through the effective active substances contained in it, and exert its anti-cancer effect. It is a health-care tea with good anti-cancer effect.

Abstract Several formulae for computing the direct coupling efficiencies from laser diodes to diffused channel waveguides, based on mathematic models for approximating the corresponding laser beams and the waveguiding modes, have been derived in this paper. Then, the authors utilize a simple shift-or-shrink (SOS) algorithm to seek their optimal coupling conditions, including the incident positions of the laser beams and the corresponding horizontal and vertical beam widths. The simulation results are presented and compared.

This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of heparin-binding protein (HBP) in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with purulent meningitis (PM). This study included 118 children with PM diagnosed at our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020, 110 children with viral meningitis (VM) and 80 children with suspected meningitis who were ruled out by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis during the same period. HBP and white blood cell (WBC) count in the CSF, and inflammatory factors, including C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and procalcitonin (PCT), were measured. Receiver-operator characteristic curves were used to analyze the predictive value of HBP, CRP, PCT, and TNF-α levels in the diagnosis of PM by CSF analysis. HBP levels in the CSF of children with PM were higher, while the CRP and serum PCT and TNF-α levels were elevated in all groups (P<0.05). In addition, HBP levels in the CSF were more accurate for the diagnosis of PM than traditional diagnostic indexes. HBP levels in the CSF can be used as an important reference for early diagnosis of PM.

Summary Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the analgesic effect and safety of using local incision analgesia to treat acute postoperative pain in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Method: A cohort of 60 patients undergoing liver cancer resection was randomly divided into three groups (n=20 per group): local incision analgesia (LIA) group, which received local infiltration with ropivacaine combined with a postoperative analgesia pump; intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) group, which received fentanyl intravenous analgesia postoperatively; and the control group, which received tramadol hydrochloride injection postoperatively according to the NRS scoring system. The postoperative analgesic effect in each group was compared and tumor recurrence (survival) was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: NRS scores, rate of analgesic usage, ambulation time (h) and intestinal function recovery time (h) were significantly reduced in LIA group compared with the control group at each postoperative time point (6, 12, 24 and 48 hours; p<0.05). Additionally, the NRS scores of LIA patients at 12 hours post-surgery was significantly reduced compared with PCA group (p<0.05), and the occurrence of postoperative adverse events in LIA group was significantly lower than that in PCA group (p<0.05). Survival analysis demonstrated that the mean survival time (tumor recurrence) was significantly increased in LIA group compared with the control group (χ2=4.749; p=0.029). Conclusion: Local incision analgesia improves the analgesic effect, causes fewer adverse reactions and increases postoperative survival time. Our study demonstrated that local incision analgesia is a safe and effective method of postoperative pain management following hepatectomy.

ABSTRACT Band structures, density of states, and absorption spectra of pure, Nd doped, C doped, and Nd-C codoped TiO2 are calculated using first-principles based on density functional theory. Calculation results show that Nd 4f state forms empty impurity energy levels below conduction band, and C 2p state together with Nd 2f state forms occupied impurity energy levels with higher density than that of single doped TiO2 above valence band. Consequently, more electrons in occupied energy levels can be excited by visible light to empty Nd 4f states rather than Ti 3d states, resulting in further enhancement of visible light absorption and absorption edge red shift. In addition, the impurity energy levels act as carriers trap centers, thus decreasing the recombination rate of carriers.

Most frequently reported Chinese renal biopsy data have originated from southeastern China. The present study analyzed the renal biopsy data from northeastern China. The records of 1550 consecutive native patients who were diagnosed with primary glomerular diseases (PGD) after renal biopsy at our hospital during 2005-2009 were used. These patients were divided into four age groups for stratified analysis: <15, 15-44, 45-59, and ≥60 years old. Among PGD, minimal change disease (MCD) was the most common histologically diagnosed disease (30.7%), followed by IgA nephropathy (IgAN), mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN), membranous nephropathy (MN), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), and endocapillary proliferative glomerulonephritis (EnPGN). MCD was the disease most frequently observed (43.7%) in the <15-year-old group. MsPGN was the most common disease in the elderly group (38.1%). MsPGN was more prevalent in females (27.8%), whereas MCD was more prevalent in males (35.3%). Primary glomerular diseases constituted the most commonly encountered group of diseases with a high prevalence of MCD, which predominantly affected males and young adults. The prevalence of MCD was high in northeastern China. Further study is necessary to expand the epidemiologic data available for renal disease in China.