Acylated anthocyanins from Dendrobium officinale Kimura & Migo: Structural characteristics, antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities.

Dendrobium officinale Kimura & Migo (D. officinale) has been widely used as Chinese medicine and functional food. In present study, the structural characteristics of anthocyanins in D. officinale were investigated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). Totally, 14 anthocyanins were detected and identified, and 13 of them were first reported in D. officinale. Results showed that the vast majority of anthocyanins had multi-glycosylated cyanidin core, with variable acylation pattern mainly comprising phenolic acids. The composition and content of anthocyanins in D. officinale stems with different cultivation modes and years have been compared. The anthocyanins showed potent antioxidant activity in terms of radicals scavenging capacity and reducing power, as well as superior α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The results provided a complete profile of anthocyanins in D. officinale and laid a foundation for further utilizing them as functional foods.

Fast and Accurate ROI Extraction for Non-Contact Dorsal Hand Vein Detection in Complex Backgrounds Based on Improved U-Net.

In response to the difficulty of traditional image processing methods to quickly and accurately extract regions of interest from non-contact dorsal hand vein images in complex backgrounds, this study proposes a model based on an improved U-Net for dorsal hand keypoint detection. The residual module was added to the downsampling path of the U-Net network to solve the model degradation problem and improve the feature information extraction ability of the network; the Jensen-Shannon (JS) divergence loss function was used to supervise the final feature map distribution so that the output feature map tended to Gaussian distribution and improved the feature map multi-peak problem; and Soft-argmax is used to calculate the keypoint coordinates of the final feature map to realize end-to-end training. The experimental results showed that the accuracy of the improved U-Net network model reached 98.6%, which was 1% better than the original U-Net network model; the improved U-Net network model file was only 1.16 M, which achieved a higher accuracy than the original U-Net network model with significantly reduced model parameters. Therefore, the improved U-Net model in this study can realize dorsal hand keypoint detection (for region of interest extraction) for non-contact dorsal hand vein images and is suitable for practical deployment in low-resource platforms such as edge-embedded systems.

Structural characteristics, functional properties, antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of pectins from feijoa (Acca sellowiana) peel.

The structure characteristics, functional properties, antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of pectins extracted from feijoa peel with water (FP-W), acid (FP-A) and alkali (FP-B) were investigated. Results showed that the feijoa peel pectins (FPs) were mainly composed of galacturonic acid, arabinose, galactose and rhamnose. FP-W and FP-A had higher proportion of homogalacturonan domain, degree of esterification and molecular weight (for main component) than FP-B; FP-B owned the highest yield, protein and polyphenol contents. FP-W had a compact and smooth surface morphology unlike FP-A and FP-B. FP-W and FP-A had better thermal stability than FP-B. The rheological analysis suggested that the FPs exhibited pseudoplastic fluid behavior, and the elastic characteristics were dominant. Results showed that FP-W and FP-B had superior antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities than FP-A. According to correlation analysis, monosaccharide composition, sugar ratios and degree of acetylation were chief factors affecting the functional properties, antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of the FPs.

Pregnancy outcomes and disease phenotype of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in singleton pregnancies after in vitro fertilization: a retrospective analysis of 1130 cases.

BACKGROUND: Although in vitro fertilization (IVF) can increase the incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), the pregnancy outcomes and disease phenotype of HDP in singleton pregnancies conceived via IVF remain unclear. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study enrolled 1130 singleton pregnancies with HDP from 2016 to 2020. According to the mode of conception, they were allocated into IVF (n = 102) and natural conception (NC) groups (n = 1028). All IVF pregnancies were subdivided into frozen embryo transfer (FET) group (n = 42) and fresh embryo transfer (ET) group (n = 60). Demographic data, pregnancy outcomes and disease phenotypes of HDP among the groups were compared. The risk factors for severe preeclampsia (PE) and early-onset PE were analyzed. RESULTS: The incidences of early-onset PE (P<0.001), severe PE (P = 0.016), cesarean section (P<0.001) and preterm births (P = 0.003) in the IVF-HDP group were significantly higher than those in the NC-HDP group, and gestational age at diagnosis of HDP (P = 0.027) and gestational age at delivery (P = 0.004) were earlier and birthweight of the neonates (P = 0.033) were lower in the IVF group. In singleton pregnancies with HDP, IVF was associated with increased risks for both severe PE and early-onset PE (aOR 1.945, 95% CI 1.256, 3.014; and aOR 2.373, 95% CI 1.537, 3.663, respectively), as well as FET, family history of preeclampsia, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, gestational hypothyroidism and multiparity were associated with increased risks of severe PE and early-onset PE. CONCLUSIONS: In singleton pregnancies with HDP, IVF was associated with an increased incidence of the disease phenotype (severe or early-onset PE), as well as an increased incidence of pregnancy outcomes related to severe PE and early-onset PE.

Determination of Biogenic Amines in Wine from Chinese Markets Using Ion Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

A method for the determination of nine biogenic amines (BAs) in wine was established using ion chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (IC-MS/MS) without derivatization. BAs were separated by a cation exchange column (IonPac CG17, 50 mm × 4 mm, 7 µm) with a gradient aqueous formic acid elution. Good linearity was obtained for nine BAs with coefficients of determination (R2) > 0.9972 within the range of 0.01-50 mg/L. The limits of detection and quantification were within the ranges of 0.6-40 µg/L and 2.0-135 µg/L, respectively, with the exception of spermine (SPM). The recoveries were demonstrated within the range of 82.6-103.0%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 4.2%. This simple method featuring excellent sensitivity and selectivity was suitable for the quantification of BAs in wines. The occurrence of BAs in 236 wine samples that are commercially available in China was determined. The BA levels in wines of different geographical origins varied significantly. The acute dietary exposure assessment of BAs was carried out by calculating the estimated short-term intake (ESTI) and comparing the acute reference dose (ARfD) specified by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Results showed that the exposure to histamine (HIS) and tyramine (TYR) via the consumption of wines was much lower than the recommended ARfD level for healthy individuals. However, exposure could lead to symptoms in susceptible individuals. These results provided basic data regarding the occurrence and risk of BAs in wines for wine production, health guidance and consumer safety.

Pregnancy outcomes and risk factors for preeclampsia in dichorionic twin pregnancies after in vitro fertilization: a five-year retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Both in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preeclampsia (PE) were associated with placental dysfunction. Although IVF can increase the incidence of PE, the pregnancy outcomes and risk factors for preeclampsia in dichorionic twin pregnancies conceived via IVF remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the pregnancy outcomes and the risk factors for preeclampsia in dichorionic twin pregnancies conceived through IVF compared to those conceived after natural conception (NC). METHODS: This retrospective observational study enrolled 181 dichorionic twin pregnancy women with preeclampsia from 2016 to 2020. According to the mode of conception, they were allocated into IVF (n = 117) and NC groups (n = 64). The clinical characteristics of preeclampsia and pregnancy outcomes between the two groups were compared by using Student's t test, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test, and logistic regression models were used to obtain adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for risk factors of early-onset preeclampsia. RESULTS: The incidence of early-onset PE and growth discordance in dichorionic twin pregnancies with PE is significantly higher in IVF-PE group than in NC group (78.60% vs 43.80%, P < 0.001, 11.10% vs 25.00%, P = 0.015). We found that IVF (aOR = 4.635, 95% CI: 2.130-10.084, P < 0.001) and growth discordance (aOR = 3.288; 95% CI: 1.090-9.749, P < 0.05) increased the incidence of early-onset PE. CONCLUSIONS: In preeclamptic dichorionic twin pregnancies, IVF and growth discordance were associated with the increased incidence of early-onset PE. The underlying mechanism for the relationship between IVF and early-onset PE or growth discordance may be placental dysfunction.

Effect of dietary pattern on pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus and its clinical significance.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common obstetric disease among pregnant women. This study aimed to explore the effect of dietary pattern management to reduce the incidence of GDM. Here, we, retrospectively, analyzed the influence of dietary patterns on the occurrence of GDM and the correlation between dietary patterns and intestinal microbiome distribution and inflammation in pregnant women. Moreover, patients were assigned to the dietary pattern management group and the nondietary pattern management group, and the effects of dietary patterns on the intestinal microbiome distribution and inflammatory factors were investigated. We found that the intestinal microbiome was changed in GDM patients compared with the healthy controls. The relative abundance of probiotics Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium significantly decreased in patients with GDM. Moreover, compared with the control group, the expression levels of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were significantly increased. Furthermore, dietary pattern management led to intestinal microbiome changes in patients with GDM. In conclusion, dietary pattern management could alleviate GDM via affecting the intestinal microbiome as well as inflammatory conditions in patients.

Chemical structure and antioxidant activity of a neutral polysaccharide from Asteris Radix et Rhizoma.

Asteris Radix et Rhizoma (AR) has been widely used as a herbal medicine for treating various symptoms and possesses a number of bioactivities. A neutral polysaccharide ARP-1 was isolated from AR with weight-average molecular weight of 214 kDa. The heteropolysaccharide ARP-1 was composed of fucose, arabinose, galactose, glucose and mannose with a molar ratio of 0.40:14.25:10.22:1.06:0.41. Linkage and NMR analysis showed that ARP-1 had a backbone containing →3,6)-ß-d-Galp-(1→ and →6)-ß-d-Galp-(1 â†’ residues, and oligosaccharide side chains containing Araf and Galp units were attached to the backbone at C-3 of →3,6)-ß-d-Galp-(1 â†’ residues. Antioxidant activity assays showed that ARP-1 exhibited potent antioxidant activities, including ABTS, hydroxy and DPPH radicals scavenging and reducing power. Besides, ARP-1 decreased the production of ROS and MDA, and improved the activities of SOD, which resulted in the protection of PC12 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative stress. The findings indicated that ARP-1 might be used as a potential natural antioxidant.

Up-regulation of TGFBI and TGFB2 in the plasma of gestational diabetes mellitus patients and its clinical significance.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) reflects a deficiency in the relative need for insulin during pregnancy, as well as temporary metabolic stress in the placenta and fetus. Our study aimed to research the potential diagnostic value of transforming growth factor-beta-induced protein ig-h3 (TGFBI) and transforming growth factor beta-2 proprotein (TGFB2) for GDM patients. METHODS: Online database Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) was used to screen for different expressed genes (DEGs) associated with GDM. Meanwhile, KEGG and GO were used to analyze the molecular functions as well as pathways of enriched DEGs. One hundred ten pregnant women diagnosed with GDM and 110 healthy controls were enrolled, of whose placenta and fasting venous blood samples were collected. mRNA expression levels were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and fasting blood glucose (FBG) was measured by the clinical lab of hospital. Furthermore, receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of detection indexed in the placenta and plasma of GDM patients. Finally, Pearson and Spearman analysis was used for the correlation analysis. RESULTS: After GEO data analysis, TGFBI and TGFB2 were identified as the most significantly up-regulated genes of GDM. TGFBI and TGFB2 expressions in placenta and plasma samples of GDM patients were in line with bioinformatic analysis. Meanwhile, the area under the curve (AUC) of TGFBI in the placenta and plasma for the diagnosis of GDM were 0.8783 (95% CI, 0.8281 to 0.9284) and 0.7832 (95% CI, 0.7215 to 0.8449) while for TGFB2 were 0.9225 (95% CI, 0.8829 to 0.9621) and 0.8961 (95% CI, 0.8526 to 0.9396). Besides, levels of TGFBI along with TGFB2 in the placenta were positively correlated with that in the plasma of GDM patients. Furthermore, both TGFBI and TGFB2 expressions in the plasma were positively correlated with FBG levels of the GDM patients. CONCLUSIONS: TGFBI and TGFB2 were up-regulated in the placenta and plasma of GDM patients, and TGFBI and TGFB2 in the plasma are potent to be diagnostic markers for the GDM.

Changes in Physicochemical Properties, Volatile Profiles, and Antioxidant Activities of Black Apple During High-Temperature Fermentation Processing.

Black apple is a new elaborated product obtained from whole fresh apple through fermentation at controlled high temperature (60~90°C) and humidity (relative humidity of 50~90%). The appearance, color, texture, and taste of black apple changed dramatically compared with those of fresh apple. In this study, changes in the physicochemical and phytochemical properties, volatile profiles, and antioxidant capacity of apple during the fermentation process were investigated. Results showed that the browning intensity and color difference increased continuously during the whole 65-day fermentation process (p < 0.05). Sugars decreased in the whole fermentation process (p < 0.05), whereas the contents of organic acids increased first and then decreased with prolonged 35 days of fermentation (p < 0.05). Total polyphenol content of black apple showed an increase of 1.5-fold as that of fresh apple, whereas 12 common polyphenolic compounds present in fresh apple decreased dramatically in the whole fermentation process (p < 0.05). The analysis of flavor volatiles showed that high-temperature fermentation decreased the levels of alcohols and esters and resulted in the formation of furanic and pyranic compounds, which are the main products of Maillard reaction (MR). Antioxidant activities of black apple were enhanced compared with those of fresh apple, and results indicated that the enhancement of antioxidant activities was related to the polyphenols and products of MR.

Detection Method of Citrus Psyllids With Field High-Definition Camera Based on Improved Cascade Region-Based Convolution Neural Networks.

Citrus psyllid is the only insect vector of citrus Huanglongbing (HLB), which is the most destructive disease in the citrus industry. There is no effective treatment for HLB, so detecting citrus psyllids as soon as possible is the key prevention measure for citrus HLB. It is time-consuming and laborious to search for citrus psyllids through artificial patrol, which is inconvenient for the management of citrus orchards. With the development of artificial intelligence technology, a computer vision method instead of the artificial patrol can be adopted for orchard management to reduce the cost and time. The citrus psyllid is small in shape and gray in color, similar to the stem, stump, and withered part of the leaves, leading to difficulty for the traditional target detection algorithm to achieve a good recognition effect. In this work, in order to make the model have good generalization ability under outdoor light condition, a high-definition camera to collect data set of citrus psyllids and citrus fruit flies under natural light condition was used, a method to increase the number of small target pests in citrus based on semantic segmentation algorithm was proposed, and the cascade region-based convolution neural networks (R-CNN) (convolutional neural network) algorithm was improved to enhance the recognition effect of small target pests using multiscale training, combining CBAM attention mechanism with high-resolution feature retention network high-resoultion network (HRNet) as feature extraction network, adding sawtooth atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) structure to fully extract high-resolution features from different scales, and adding feature pyramid networks (FPN) structure for feature fusion at different scales. To mine difficult samples more deeply, an online hard sample mining strategy was adopted in the process of model sampling. The results show that the improved cascade R-CNN algorithm after training has an average recognition accuracy of 88.78% for citrus psyllids. Compared with VGG16, ResNet50, and other common networks, the improved small target recognition algorithm obtains the highest recognition performance. Experimental results also show that the improved cascade R-CNN algorithm not only performs well in citrus psylla identification but also in other small targets such as citrus fruit flies, which makes it possible and feasible to detect small target pests with a field high-definition camera.

Serum miR-195-5p is upregulated in gestational diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as varying degrees of glucose intolerance with an onset or first recognition during pregnancy in women without previously diagnosed diabetes. Accumulating evidence indicates that miRNAs exert crucial roles in the pathogenesis and development of diabetes, including GDM. In the present study, we aimed to determine the clinical performance of miR-195-5p in GDM. METHODS: First, the miR-195-5p expressions in serum samples from healthy pregnant women and women with GDM at 25 weeks pregnancy were detected using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Then, receive characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the diagnostic value of miR-195-5p in GDM. Finally, the correlation analysis of miR-195-5p expression with related clinicopathological factors was carried out to determine the clinical value of miR-195-5p in GDM. RESULTS: In this study, we found that miR-195-5p expression was significantly increased in serum samples from GDM patients as compared with that in healthy pregnancies. Furthermore, miR-195-5p might be a putative biomarker for GDM diagnosis with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.8451; the cutoff value was 1.598, sensitivity was 73.69%, specificity was 96.85%, accuracy was 81.26%, and Youden index was 70.54%. Expression of miR-195-5p was positively associated with fasting plasma glucose, one-hour plasma glucose, and two-hour plasma glucose. CONCLUSION: miR-195-5p might function as a putative diagnostic biomarker for GDM and contribute to identifying at-risk mothers in pregnancy.

Residue behavior and risk assessment of imidacloprid applied on greenhouse-cultivated strawberries under different application conditions.

A risk assessment for imidacloprid applied on strawberries under different conditions was performed after residue determination using the quick, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method. The application conditions were varied according to the applied dosage, addition of a plant oil or organosilicon surfactant, water volume, and sprayer type. The degradation dynamics of imidacloprid on strawberries followed first-order kinetics. At applied doses of 30-60 g a.i. ha-1, the half-lives of imidacloprid were 2.89-3.46, 1.98-3.65, and 2.57-2.77 days after application without a surfactant or with a plant oil or organosilicon surfactant, respectively. For water volumes of 112.5, 225, 450, 675, and 900 L ha-1, the half-lives of imidacloprid applied in the presence of the plant oil surfactant were 3.30, 7.70, 5.33, 7.70, and 6.30 days, respectively. The half-lives after application with a knapsack mist duster, electric sprayer, and manual sprayer were 2.16, 5.77, and 7.70 days, respectively. The health risk assessment revealed risk quotients less than 1 in all cases, indicating that the application of imidacloprid poses a low health risk to humans after a pre-harvest interval of 10 days under our application conditions. The risk assessment results can provide reference data for setting a reasonable maximum residue limit for imidacloprid on strawberries in China.

Health risk assessment of Chinese consumers to Cadmium via dietary intake.

This paper investigated the concentration of Cd in foods via surveys and a literature review. The concentration of Cd in different food groups was in the decreasing order of meat > aquatic products > cereal > vegetable > bean > egg > dairy > fruit. More precisely, on average the weekly Cd intake for men, women, 2-3-year-old children and 4-17-year-old children were 0.0039, 0.0041, 0.0069 and 0.0064mgkg-1 bw week-1, respectively. Among all food groups, cereal was the most significant contributor to the dietary intake of Cd, followed by vegetable, aquatic products and meat. For Chinese consumers, the results of risk assessment for all groups by the deterministic method and the probabilistic method showed the mean weekly Cd intake via dietary exposure was lower than the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) proposed by WHO. However, the 95th and 97.5th percentile THQ values all exceeded 1, and the probability of dietary Cd exposure greater than the weekly intake tolerance (THQ >1) were 15.9%, 17.1%, 42.3% and 28.4% for men, women, 2-3-year-old children and 4-17-year-old children, indicating a potential risk from Cd exposure via dietary intake, especially for children. It appeared that dietary Cd exposure should deserve our attention, and positive measures must be taken to reduce the concentration of Cd in food at once.

Tetracycline-inducible shRNA targeting antisense long non-coding RNA HIF1A-AS2 represses the malignant phenotypes of bladder cancer.

Various studies have indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in the cancer development and progression. LncRNA hypoxia inducible factor 1alpha antisense RNA-2 (HIF1A-AS2) is upregulated in gastric carcinomas and knockdown of HIF1A-AS2 expression by siRNA could inhibit cell proliferation in vitro and tumorigenesis in vivo. Inspired by these observations, we hypothesized that HIF1A-AS2 possibly plays the analogous roles in bladder cancer. In our study, we first reported that HIF1A-AS2 was up-regulated in bladder cancer tissues and cells, and HIF1A-AS2 expression level in bladder cancer tissues is positively associated with advanced clinical pathologic grade and TNM phase. Cell proliferation inhibition, cell migration suppression and apoptosis induction were observed by silencing HIF1A-AS2 in bladder cancer T24 and 5637 cells. Overexpression of HIF1A-AS2 in SV-HUC-1 cells could promote cell proliferation, cell migration and anti-apoptosis. Besides, we utilized the emerging technology of medical synthetic biology to design tetracycline-inducible small hairpin RNA (shRNA) vector which specifically silenced HIF1A-AS2 in a dosage-dependent manner to inhibit the progression of human bladder cancer. In conclusion, our data suggested that HIF1A-AS2 plays oncogenic roles and can be used as a therapeutic target for treating human bladder cancer. Synthetic "tetracycline-on" switch system that quantitatively controlled the expression of HIF1A-AS2 in bladder cancer can inhibit the progression of bladder cancer cells in a dosage-dependent manner. Our findings provide new insights into the role of the lncRNA HIF1A-AS2 in the bladder cancer.

Effects of maternal exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate during pregnancy and breastfeeding on ovarian development and function of F1 female rats.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) during pregnancy and breastfeeding on F1 ovarian development and function. A rat model of maternal exposure to DBP during pregnancy and breastfeeding was established by gavage feeding female Sprague Dawley rats with 0, 10, 100, or 600mg/kg/day DBP from gestational day (GD) 12 to postnatal day (PND) 21. F1 offspring were weaned on PND21 and were not exposed to DBP afterward. The age of vaginal opening and estrus onset, estrous cyclicity, c-Kit-ligand expression on ovarian granulosa cells, and the weight of ovaries and uterus of F1 female offspring were not affected, whereas serum levels of estradiol and progesterone were increased significantly by maternal exposure to 10mg/kg/day DBP from GD12 to PND21. Although F1 ovarian function may not be adversely affected by maternal exposure to DBP, the increased reproductive hormone levels may interfere in F1 rat fertility.

[Application of Wavelet Transform and Successive Projections Algorithm in the Non-Destructive Measurement of Total Acid Content of Pitaya].

The objective of present study was to find out an accurate, rapid and nondestructive method to detect total acid content (TA) of pitaya with visible/near-infrared spectrometry, wavelet transform (WT) and successive projections algorithm (SPA), which will provide scientific basis for non- destructive measurement of pitaya. Maya2000 fiber-optic spectrumeter was used to collect spectral data of pitaya on the wavelength in the range of 380~1 099 nm; and then with the methods of WT denosing pretreatment, SPA and partial least squares regression (PLSR) quantitative forecasting model of TA of pitaya was established. The result showed that the precision of WT-SPA-PLSR model, which combine the WT with SPA, was better than that of PLSR model based on the whole wave variables. The relation coefficient of the PLSR model (Rp) that predicted TA based on the original spectrum of all samples as the input variables was 0.851 394 and RMSEP was 0.086 848. The original spectrum variable of the all samples were processed by using wavelet function dbN(N=2, 3, …, 10) for wavelet decomposition and de-noising. The optimal results of noise reduction were decomposed in level 2 using wavelet function db4 (db4-2). The Rp of WT-PLSR model was 0.915 635 and RMSEP was 0.066 752. The prediction of model using wavelet transform de-noising was improved significantly. After the original spectrum processed by db10-3 and SPA, 12 preferred variables were selected from 570 spectrum variables, such as 530, 545, 604, 626, 648, 676, 685, 695, 730, 897, 972, 1 016 nm spectrum variables. The WT-SPA-PLSR model based on these 12 variables as input variables was established. Rp of the WT-SPA-PLSR prediction model was 0.882 83 and RMSEP was 0.077 39. SPA algorithm was suitable for the selection of spectrum variables which could effectively obtain the spectrum variables which were strong correlation with TA and increase the accuracy and stability of the prediction model. The results indicated that the nondestructive detection for TA of pitaya based on the diffuse reflectance visible/near-infrared spectrometry, WT and SPA was feasible.

Replication the association of 2q32.2-q32.3 and 14q32.11 with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor. The morbidity and mortality of HCC tend to ascend and become a serious threat to the population health. Genetic studies of HCC have identified several susceptibility loci of HCC. In this study, we aim to replicate the association of these loci in our samples from Chinese population and further investigate the genetic interaction. We selected 16 SNPs within 1p36.22, 2q32.2-q32.3, 3p21.33, 8p12, 14q32.11 and 21q21.3 and genotyped in 507 HCC patients and 3014 controls by using Sequenom MassARRAY system. Association analyses were performed by using PLINK 1.07. We observed that the STAT4 (2q32.2-q32.3) at rs7574865 (P=1.17×10(-3), OR=0.79) and EFCAB11 (14q32.11) at rs8013403 (P=1.54×10(-3), OR=0.80) were significantly associated with HCC in this study. In 3p21.33, genetic variant rs6795737 within GLB1 was also observed with suggestive evidence (P=9.98×10(-3), OR=0.84). In the interaction analysis, the pair of associated SNPs (rs7574865 within STAT4, rs8013403 within EFCAB11) generated evidence for interaction (P=4.10×10(-3)). In summary, our work first reported the association of 14q32.11 (EFCAB11) with HCC in Chinese Han population and revealed the genetic interaction between STAT4 (2q32.2-q32.3) and EFCAB11 (14q32.11) in HCC.

Early enteral nutrition after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the difference between early enteral nutrition (EEN group) and total parenteral nutrition (TPN group) after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHOD: The nutrition index, liver function, patient generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) score, the post-operation complications, the hospital stay and hospitalization expense of the postoperative patient after total gastrectomy, admitted to our Department of Surgery from May 2011 to May 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 72 patients including 37 cases in the EEN group and 35 cases in the TPN group were recruited. Hypoalbuminemia gradually improved in the EEN group about 3-5 days, but it did not increase until average 21 days in the TPN group. The body weight decreased in the EEN group during the first 2 weeks and recovered gradually in 21 days; body weight in the TPN group was significantly lower than the EEN group at 21 days (p<0.05). There were significant differences in both the groups (p<0.05) in nutrition indicators. The incidence of complications in the EEN group and TPN group were 8.1% and 25.7% respectively, with no significant differences (p>0.05). The days of hospital stays in the EEN and in the TPN group were up to 12.2 ± 2.5 d vs 14.9 ± 2.9 d (p<0.05) and the hospitalization expenses were 36472 ± 4833 CNY vs 40140 ± 3927 CNY (p<0.05), respectively. CONCLUSION: Compared with TPN, EEN was safe and well tolerated and can shorten the hospital stay as well as reduce costs incurred with total gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

[Rapid identification of potato cultivars using NIR-excited fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy].

Potato is one of the most important food in the world. Rapid and noninvasive identification of potato cultivars plays a important role in the better use of varieties. In this study, The identification ability of optical spectroscopy techniques, including near-infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy and NIR fluorescence spectroscopy, for invasive detection of potato cultivars was evaluated. A rapid NIR Raman spectroscopy system was applied to measure the composite Raman and NIR fluorescence spectroscopy of 3 different species of potatoes (98 samples in total) under 785 nm laser light excitation. Then pure Raman and NIR fluorescence spectroscopy were abstracted from the composite spectroscopy, respectively. At last, the partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was utilized to analyze and classify Raman spectra of 3 different types of potatoes. All the samples were divided into two sets at random: the calibration set (74samples) and prediction set (24 samples), the model was validated using a leave-one-out, cross-validation method. The results showed that both the NIR-excited fluorescence spectra and pure Raman spectra could be used to identify three cultivars of potatoes. The fluorescence spectrum could distinguish the Favorita variety well (sensitivity: 1, specificity: 0.86 and accuracy: 0.92), but the result for Diamant (sensitivity: 0.75, specificity: 0.75 and accuracy: 0. 75) and Granola (sensitivity: 0.16, specificity: 0.89 and accuracy: 0.71) cultivars identification were a bit poorer. We demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy uncovered the main biochemical compositions contained in potato species, and provided a better classification sensitivity, specificity and accuracy (sensitivity: 1, specificity: 1 and accuracy: 1 for all 3 potato cultivars identification) among the three types of potatoes as compared to fluorescence spectroscopy.