Lactitol Alleviates Loperamide-Induced Constipation in Sprague Dawley Rats by Regulating Serotonin, Short-Chain Fatty Acids, and Gut Microbiota.

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of lactitol on constipation caused by loperamide in Sprague Dawley rats, with a particular emphasis on its underlying mechanisms and potential health advantages. The lactitol effectively improved fecal parameters, intestinal tissue structure, and the expression of constipation-related gene expression and proteins. Lactitol alleviated fecal weight and water content altered by loperamide and enhanced gastrointestinal transit. The administration also restored mucosal and muscular layer thickness. Mechanistically, lactitol upregulated the mRNA expression and/or protein levels of mucins (MUC2 and MUC4), occludin, claudin-1, and zonula occludens, indicating improved intestinal barrier function. Lactitol positively regulated the composition of cecal microbiota, leading to an increased relative abundance of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Romboutsia. Conversely, lactitol decreased the relative abundance of Prevotella, Aerococcus, Muribaculum, Blautia, and Ruminococcus. This study demonstrated the potential of lactitol to relieve constipation by modulating the gut microbiota. These findings suggest that lactitol is an alternative to traditional laxatives and has potential as a health-promoting food sweetener.

Stimulating effect of whey protein hydrolysate on bone growth in MC3T3-E1 cells and a rat model.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) on osteogenic cell differentiation and its growth-promoting effects in rats. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium deposition were measured by treating MC3T3-E1 cells with WPH, and mRNA and protein levels of factors related to osteoblast differentiation were assessed. ALP activity and calcium deposition were significantly increased in the WPH group (p < 0.001). These findings were confirmed by the upregulation of ALP, bone morphogenic protein, bone sialoprotein, and collagen at the mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, to confirm the growth-promoting effect of WPH, bone growth was analyzed by administering 3-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats with whey protein or WPH. Moreover, serum levels of calcium, ALP, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were analyzed, bone analysis was performed using micro-CT, and the size of the growth plate was measured by Cresyl violet staining. When rats were administered with a high dose of WPH (600 mg per kg per day), calcium levels decreased significantly, while ALP levels (1.14-fold; p < 0.01), IGF-1 levels, tibia length, and growth plate height increased significantly compared to those in the control group. Collectively, WPH has shown to be effective in bone differentiation and bone growth.

An immunoproteomic approach for characterization of the outer membrane proteins of Salmonella Gallinarum.

Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum (SG) is an important pathogen that causes fowl typhoid in chickens. In order to investigate SG outer membrane proteins (OMPs) as potential vaccine candidate proteins, we established a proteomic map and database of antigenic SG-OMPs. A total of 174 spots were detected by 2DE. Twenty-two antigen-reactive spots were identified as nine specific proteins using PMF. OmpA was the most abundant protein among all of the identified OMPs, and it exhibited seven protein species. We conducted Western blot analysis for the SG-OMPs in order to determine which proteins were cross-reactive to the serovars Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, and SG. Our results indicated that OmpA was considered to be an antigenic cross-reactive protein among the three serovars. This study sheds new light on our understanding of cross-protection among Salmonella serovars.

Evaluation of a microwave-heating anaerobic digester treating municipal secondary sludge.

This work experimentally determined the effect of microwave irradiation on the anaerobic digestion of municipal secondary sludge in semi-continuous mesophilic digesters at hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 15, 10 and 5 days when microwaves were used as a heating source. A microwave-heating anaerobic digester (MHAD) was compared with a water-heating reactor (control). Biogas production increased in both digesters as the HRT decreased except for the control with a HRT of 5 days. Improvement in removal efficiency of volatile solid and biogas production of the MHAD relative to the control increased as the HRT decreased. The results show that the MHAD was more effective than the control in increasing mesophilic anaerobic biodegradability and biogas production treating secondary sludge.

Effect of microwave pretreatment in presence of NaOH on mesophilic anaerobic digestion of thickened waste activated sludge.

This work experimentally determined the effect of microwave irradiation with NaOH pretreatment on anaerobic digestion of thickened waste activated sludge in semi-continuous mesophilic digesters at hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 15, 10, 7, and 5 days. The degree of substrate solubilization was 18 times higher in pretreated sludge (53.2%) than in raw sludge (3.0%). Removal efficiency of volatile solid in digesters fed with raw (control) and pretreated sludges (PD) decreased as HRT reduced. The highest relative improvement of properties compared with the control occurred at 5 day HRT. Improvements in biogas production compared with the control increased in the PD as HRT was reduced to 5 days (205% higher at 5 days). However, digested sludges in the control and PD increased capillary suction time compared with raw sludge. The results show that microwave irradiation combined with alkali pretreatment is effective in increasing mesophilic anaerobic biodegradability of sewage sludge.

Clinical significance of colonoscopic examination in patients with early stage of gastric neoplasm undergoing endoscopic submucosal dissection.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the frequency of colorectal neoplasm in patients with early gastric neoplasm who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) compared to healthy controls and to investigate their risk factors for colorectal neoplasm. METHODS: A total of 107 patients with gastric neoplasm including 54 gastric adenoma and 53 early gastric cancer (EGC) that underwent ESD and 107 sex/age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. All of the subjects underwent colonoscopy for routine check-up. High-risk colorectal neoplasm were defined as >1 cm, three or more polyps, adenoma with villous component, adenoma with high-grade dysplasia or adenocarcinoma. RESULTS: The frequency of overall colorectal neoplasm was 56.1% in the gastric neoplasm group and 34.6% in the control group (p < 0.005). High-risk colorectal neoplasm was found in 26.2% of patients with gastric neoplasm and 12.1% of controls (p < 0.01). In each gastric adenoma and EGC subgroups, the frequency of overall colorectal neoplasm was higher than each control subgroup. The frequency of high-risk colorectal neoplasm in EGC subgroup was significantly higher than that in the control subgroup, against not being in gastric adenoma subgroup. The risk factors for overall colorectal neoplasm were age and presence of gastric neoplasm, and that for high risk colorectal neoplasm was the only presence of gastric neoplasm. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of overall and high-risk colorectal neoplasm in the gastric neoplasm group was higher than that in the control group. Therefore, a screening colonoscopy should be considered in patients with early gastric neoplasm undergoing ESD.

F-18 FDG PET-positive fibrous dysplasia in a patient with intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is a common benign bone disorder of an unclear etiology. It is known that FD can appear without an increased FDG uptake on F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT). However, there are also several reports that FD showed increased FDG uptake and this mimicked malignant bone involvement on FDG-PET. Herein we describe a case of biopsy-proven FDG-PET positive FD in a patient with intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). A 45-year-old woman was diagnosed with intestinal NHL, which was removed by right hemicolectomy. After the operation, the FDG-PET/CT scan showed hypermetabolic activity in the right transverse process of the T10 vertebra. The patient then received a total of 6 cycles of R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) chemotherapy every 3 weeks. After completion of the planned chemotherapy, the 2(nd) FDG-PET/CT showed increased FDG uptake (SUVmax=6.0 g/mL) of the previous bone lesion. The MR images revealed a T1-hypointense lesion with sharp borders in the same region, and this showed homogenous contrast enhancement on the fat-suppressed T1-weighted images. After the radiologic studies were carefully reviewed, the bone lesion was assumed to be benign such as FD. We performed bone biopsy and the histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of FD. In conclusion, bone lesions with FDG uptake need to be carefully interpreted when evaluating patients with known malignancy.

Duodenal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma: a case report.

Primary duodenal mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is very rare, and little is known about its clinical course or effective treatment. We describe a case of primary duodenal MALT lymphoma that was resistant to Helicobacter pylon (H. pylori) eradication and regressed after chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone (CVP). A 71-year-old woman was referred to our department because of epigastric pain and dyspepsia. Gastroduodenoscopy revealed an irregular mucosal nodular lesion with ulceration extending from the bulb to the second portion of the duodenum. Histopathological examination of a biopsy specimen disclosed low-grade MALT lymphoma composed of atypical lymphoid cells with lymphoepithelial lesion. Abdominal CT scans revealed 0.5 to 1.5 cm lymph nodes in the peritoneal cavity, suggestive of lymph node metastasis. We successfully eradicated H. pylori but did not see signs of remission. We administered systemic CVP chemotherapy every 3 weeks. After 6 courses of CVP, the patient achieved complete remission and was followed up without recurrence for about a year.