Thawing of Frozen Hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) with Graphene Nanoparticles Combined with Radio Frequency: Variations in Protein Aggregation, Structural Characteristics, and Stability.

Efficient thawing can preserve the quality of frozen hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) close to that of fresh hairtail. In contrast to air thawing (AT) and radio-frequency thawing (RT), this study looked at how graphene oxide (GO) and graphene magnetic (GM) nanoparticles paired with RT affect the microstructure and protein conformation of hairtails after thawing. The results suggested that GM-RT can reduce the myofibrillar protein (MP) damage and be more effective than other thawing treatments, like AT, RT, and GO-RT, in maintaining the microstructure of hairtail. The particle size and zeta potential showed that GM-RT could reduce the aggregation of MP during the thawing process compared to other thawing methods. Moreover, the texture of the hairtail after GM-RT exhibited higher hardness (1185.25 g), elasticity (2.25 mm), and chewiness (5.75 mJ) values compared to other thawing treatments. Especially compared with RT, the GM-RT treatment displayed significant improvements in hardness (27.24%), a considerable increase in springiness (92.23%), and an increase in chewiness (57.96%). GO-RT and GM-RT significantly reduced the centrifugal loss. The scanning electron microscopy results demonstrated that the effect of GM-RT was more akin to that of a fresh sample (FS) and characterized by a well-organized microstructure. In conclusion, GM-RT effectively diminished the MP aggregation and improved the texture of thawed fish. It can be regarded as a viable alternative thawing technique to enhance MP stability, which is vital for preserving meat quality.

Association between sugar-sweetened beverages and pure fruit juice with risk of six cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: In observational and prospective cohort studies, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and pure fruit juice (PFJ) has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Still, the causality of the connection has not yet been determined. Our objective was to uncover the relationship between SSBs/PFJ and CVD. METHODS: Genetically predicted causal associations between SSBs/PFJ (obtained in a published genome-wide association study) and six common CVDs (atrial fibrillation (AF), angina, heart failure (HF), acute myocardial infarction, hypertension, and coronary atherosclerosis) were assessed using MR analytic modeling. The primary analysis method utilized was the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, complemented by additional methods such as the weighted median method, MR Egger regression, Cochran's Q test, MR pleiotropy residual, funnel plot, Bonferroni correction, and others for MR analysis. To ensure the robustness of the findings, F-values were calculated as a complementary test to set looser thresholds for exposing genetic instrumental variables (P < 1e-5). RESULTS: The results of MR analysis suggested genetically causal associations between SSBs and AF (odds ratio (OR): 1.023; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.007-1.038; P = 0.0039) as well as between PFJ and angina (OR: 0.968; 95% CI, 0.943-0.993; P = 0.0138) there was genetic causality. However, MR analysis showed no causal association between SSBs/PFJ and other CVD risks. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that there may be a potential causal relationship between SSBs intake and AF and a causal negative association between PFJ intake and angina.

Poor nutritional status is associated with the severity of omicron infection in the older adults.

BACKGROUND: The Omicron wave of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains the dominant strain worldwide. The studies of nutritional status in geriatric people with COVID-19 Omicron variant are limited. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of poor nutritional status among Omicron infected older patients, and to explore the correlation between the nutritional status and the severity of Omicron infection in older patients. METHODS: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. According to the clinical symptoms, patients were divided into two groups: mild and moderate to severe. Mini Nutritional Assessment short-form (MNA-SF) was conducted when patients were admitted and poor nutritional status was defined as MNA-SF score of 0-11. The inflammatory markers including neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and systemic inflammatory index (SII) were calculated and compared between two groups. RESULTS: Total of 324 patients were enrolled, with median [interquartile range (IQR)] age of 73 (17) years. Overall, 241 cases were mild, 83 cases were moderate to severe at the time of diagnosis and that 54.3% of patients had poor nutritional status. Patients with poor nutritional status were found to be older (P < 0.001) and less vaccinated (P < 0.001), with a longer virus shedding duration (P = 0.022), more comorbidities (≥ 2) (P = 0.004) and higher value of NLR (P < 0.001), PLR (P < 0.001) and SII (P = 0.012). Vaccination, cycle threshold value in ORF1ab gene (OR CT value) and female, higher MNA-SF score was negatively connected with probability of moderate to severe infection. For every 1 score increase in MNA-SF, the odds ratio of moderate to severe infection decreased by 14.8% [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 0.852; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.734-0.988; P = 0.034]. CONCLUSIONS: Older patients with poor nutritional status are more likely to develop moderate to severe Omicron infection.

Evaluating the effects of graphene nanoparticles combined radio-frequency thawing on the physicochemical quality and protein conformation in hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) dorsal muscle.

BACKGROUND: The thawing process is an essential step for a frozen marine fish. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of graphene magnetic nanoparticles combined radio-frequency thawing methods on frozen hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) dorsal muscle. Seven thawing methods were used: air thawing, 4 °C cold storage thawing, water thawing, radio-frequency thawing (RT), radio frequency thawing combined with graphene nanoparticles (G-RT), radio frequency thawing combined with graphene oxide nanoparticles (GO-RT) and radio-frequency thawing combined with graphene magnetic nanoparticles (GM-RT). The thawing loss and centrifugal loss, electric conductivity, total volatile basic nitrogen, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and color of thawed hairtail dorsal muscle were determined. The carbonyl content, total sulfhydryl groups, Ca2+ -ATPase activity, raman spectroscopy measurements and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry measurements were determined using myofibrillar extracted from the dorsal muscle of hairtail. The water distribution was determined using low-field NMR techniques. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the RT, G-RT, GO-RT and GM-RT could significantly shorten the thawing time. Moreover, GO-RT and GM-RT efficiently preserved the color of fish dorsal muscle and reduced the impact of thawing on fish quality by reducing lipid and protein oxidation. Meanwhile, the myofibrillar protein structure thawed by GO-RT and GM-RT were more stable and had a more stable secondary structure, which maintained strong systemic stability at the same time as slowing down protein oxidation. CONCLUSION: The results showed that GO-RT and GM-RT can significantly improve the thawing efficiency at the same time as effectively maintaining and improving the color and texture of thawed fish, slowing down the oxidation of proteins and lipids, and maintaining a good quality of thawed fish meat. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Elevated serum triglyceride levels at first prenatal visit is associated with the development of gestational diabetes mellitus.

AIMS: While several studies have indicated that maternal serum lipid profiles are associated with the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), the results have been inconsistent. This study aimed to explore the relationship between maternal lipids profiles at first prenatal visit and GDM and determine the optimal cut-off values of possible trimester-specific variables in predicting GDM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical data of women with singleton pregnancies who delivered in Xinhua Hospital between January 2016 and January 2017 were collected from electronic databases. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the potential risk factors of GDM (specific to the trimester at first prenatal visit), including age, body mass index (BMI), and serum lipid profile and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine the cut-off values of significant variables. RESULTS: Among the 2191 pregnant women included, 315 (14.38%) were diagnosed with GDM. Of these, 880 (40.16%) had their first prenatal visit before 14 gestational weeks. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that both FPG and triglyceride (TG) levels in the first and second trimesters were associated with a high risk of GDM (p < 0.05). The ROC curve showed that serum TG levels >1.235 mmol/L and >1.525 mmol/L in the first and second trimesters, respectively, were significantly associated with the development of GDM (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TG levels at first prenatal visit is associated with GDM risk. Different TG cut-off values should be applied in the different trimesters of pregnancy for GDM screening.

Transcranial vibro-acoustography can detect traumatic brain injury, in-vivo: Preliminary studies.

Vibro-acoustography (VA) uses two or more beams of confocal ultrasound to generate local vibrations within their target tissue through induction of a time-dependent radiation force whose frequency equals that of the difference of the applied frequencies. While VA has proven effective for assaying the mechanical properties of clinically relevant tissue such as breast lesions and tissue calcifications, its application to brain remains unexplored. Here we investigate the ability of VA to detect acute and focal traumatic brain injury (TBI) in-vivo through the use of transcranially delivered high-frequency (2 MHz) diagnostic focused ultrasound to rat brain capable of generating measurable low-frequency (200-270 kHz) acoustic emissions from outside of the brain. We applied VA to acute sham-control and TBI model rats (sham N=6; TBI N=6) and observed that acoustic emissions, captured away from the site of TBI, had lower amplitudes for TBI as compared to sham-TBI animals. The sensitivity of VA to acute brain damage at frequencies currently transmittable across human skulls, as demonstrated in this preliminary study, supports the possibility that the VA methodology may one day serve as a technique for detecting TBI.