Fucoidan Improves Early Stage Diabetic Nephropathy via the Gut Microbiota-Mitochondria Axis in High-Fat Diet-Induced Diabetic Mice.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes. Fucoidan, a polysaccharide containing fucose and sulfate group, ameliorates DN. However, the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood. This study aimed to explore the effects and mechanism of fucoidan on DN in high-fat diet-induced diabetic mice. A total of 90 C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 15) as follows: normal control (NC), diabetes mellitus (DM), metformin (MTF), low-dose fucoidan (LFC), medium-dose fucoidan (MFC), and high-dose fucoidan (HFC). A technique based on fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC-sinistin) elimination kinetics measured percutaneously was applied to determine the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). After 24 weeks, the mice were sacrificed and an early stage DN model was confirmed by GFR hyperfiltration, elevated urinary creatinine, normal urinary albumin, tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and glomerular hypertrophy. Fucoidan significantly improved the GFR hyperfiltration and renal fibrosis. An enriched SCFAs-producing bacteria and increased acetic concentration in cecum contents were found in fucoidan groups, as well as increased renal ATP levels and improved mitochondrial dysfunction. The renal inflammation and fibrosis were ameliorated through inhibiting the MAPKs pathway. In conclusion, fucoidan improved early stage DN targeting the microbiota-mitochondria axis by ameliorating mitochondrial oxidative stress and inhibiting the MAPKs pathway.

Dietary pattern characterized by a balanced diet rich in high-quality protein intake is associated with mild initial clinical manifestations in tuberculosis.

Background: The relationship between a single food or nutrient and pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) has been explored in many studies; however, the relationship between dietary patterns and TB is still lacking. Objective: Our study aims to investigate the association between dietary patterns and the initial clinical manifestations in patients with TB. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study including 1,661 patients with active TB was conducted in Qingdao, China, from 2011 to 2019. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to collect dietary data. Dietary patterns were determined by principal component factor analysis. Initial clinical manifestations were assessed using a combination of the patient self-reported clinical symptoms and the admission results indicated by the TB score. The associations between dietary patterns and TB scores in patients with TB were examined by the logistics regression model. Results: The analysis identified four dietary patterns: meat-fruit-seafood pattern; dairy-egg pattern; beans and their products-whole grain pattern; and refined grain-vegetable pattern. In a multiple-adjusted model, higher adherence to the meat-fruit-seafood pattern showed a protective effect on the TB score (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.39, 0.84, P for trend = 0.010) and the association was stronger in patients older than 45 years (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.16, 0.64, P for trend < 0.001). The higher adherence to beans and their products-whole grain pattern was a protective factor for TB score (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37, 0.87, P for trend = 0.025), and the association was also observed in patients with concurrent TB and diabetes mellitus (DM) with a more significant effect (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.14, 0.80, P for trend = 0.025). No significant association was found between dairy-egg pattern and refined grain-vegetable dietary pattern with TB score. Conclusion: Dietary patterns characterized by a balanced diet rich in high-quality protein, sufficient energy, as well as marine n-3 PUFA, phytochemicals, B vitamins, and fiber are associated with mild initial clinical manifestations, and the association is stronger in patients older than 45 years and those with concurrent TB and DM.

PerAE: An Effective Personalized AutoEncoder for ECG-Based Biometric in Augmented Reality System.

With the development of the Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) technologies, massive biometric data are collected by different organizations. These data have great significance but also worsen the privacy risks. Electro-CardioGram (ECG)-based Identity Recognition (EIR) is a popular Biometric technology. An ECG record is an internal Biology feature of a person and has time continuity. Thus, compared with traditional Biometric methods like face recognition, EIR may be less vulnerable to attack. We propose an Autoencoder-based EIR system, called Personalized AutoEncoder (PerAE). PerAE maintains a small autoencoder model (called Attention-MemAE) for each registered user of a system. The Attention-MemAE enhances the autoencoder by using a memory module and two attention mechanisms. A user's Attention-MemAE classifies the hearbeats of other users as anomalies. An Attention-MemAE can be updated when the distribution of the user's ECG data is changed. By using personalized autoencoder, PerAE can improve the time efficiency and reduce the memory overhead. It improves the adaptability, scalability, and maintainability of EIR systems. Experiment results show that to train an Attention-MemAE with 90 % identification accuracy for a user, we can just take five minutes to collect the user's ECG data (around 500 heartbeat samples).

Joint effect of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and secondhand smoke exposure on hypertension in non-smoking women of childbearing age: NHANES 2007-2014.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) may increase the risk of hypertension in women of childbearing age, who may be exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) simultaneously. Till now, few studies have investigated the joint effects of VDD and SHS on hypertension in this population. We evaluated whether exposure to SHS modified the association between VDD and hypertension. METHODS: Data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2007-2014 were analyzed. Our research subjects were 2826 nonsmoking and nonpregnant women of childbearing age (20-44 years old). Hypertension was defined based either on systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 130 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 80 mmHg or on now taking prescribed medicine for hypertension. The directed acyclic graphs (DAG) and the back-door criterion were used to select a minimal sufficient adjustment set of variables (MSAs) that would identify the unconfounded effect of 25(OH)D and hypertension. The interactive effect of VDD and SHS on hypertension was evaluated by using logistic regression models, followed by strata-specific analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of VDD in the hypertension group was significantly higher than that in the non-hypertension group (48.2% vs 41.0%, P = 0.008), as well as the exposure rate of SHS (39.1% vs 33.8%, P = 0.017). VDD was independently associated with nearly 50% increased risk of hypertension [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 2.04], while no significant association was observed between SHS and hypertension. However, SHS showed a significant synergistic effect on VDD with a higher aOR of 1.79 (95% CI: 1.14, 2.80) (Pinteraction = 0.011). This synergistic effect was more obvious when stratified by BMI (in overweight women, aOR, 95% CI =4.74, 1.65-13.60 for interaction vs 2.33, 1.01-5.38 for VDD only) and race (in Non-Hispanic Black women, aOR, 95% CI =5.11, 1.58-16.54 for interaction vs 2.69, 1.10-6.62 for VDD only). CONCLUSION: There exist synergistic effects of SHS and VDD on the prevalence of hypertension in American women of childbearing age, with more significant effects in women who were overweight or Non-Hispanic Black. Further studies are warranted to verify this finding in other populations, and the molecular mechanisms underlying the joint effect of SHS and VDD need to be elucidated.

Baicalin Is Curative Against Rotavirus Damp Heat Diarrhea by Tuning Colonic Mucosal Barrier and Lung Immune Function.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have indicated that rotavirus (RV) is a causative factor for diarrhea and gastroenteritis in pediatric and neonatal settings. Baicalin has many functions, including antibacterial, antiinflammatory, and antihypertensive activities. However, the immunological mechanism of RV-induced diarrhea with heat-dampness syndrome (RV-DH) remains unclear. AIMS: The aim of this study is to explore the role of baicalin in RV-DH diarrhea and its underlying mechanism. METHODS: A mouse model of pediatric RV-DH diarrhea was established and treated with baicalin. The concentrations of cytokines were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), while protein expression levels were determined by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Flow cytometry was used to detect the frequency of lymphocytes. RESULTS: The concentrations of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, RVvb, and secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and colonic mucosa were significantly increased in the RV-DH group. Decreased expression of occludin, claudin-1, and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) indicated loss of tight junction function and disturbances in intestinal mucosal permeability in the RV-DH group. Flow cytometry analysis showed a high rate of CD8+ lymphocytes and low amount of CD4+ lymphocytes in the RV-DH group. Treatment of RV-DH mice with baicalin significantly reduced the duration of diarrhea and ameliorated the symptoms and pathological and immunological changes. Furthermore, baicalin inhibited STAT1 and activated STAT3 signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate the curative and immunoregulatory properties of baicalin and have direct practical and clinical relevance for the treatment of RV-DH enteritis in humans.

[Inhibition of transformation from puerarin monohydrate to puerarin dihydrate by polyvinylpyrrolidones during dissolution].

Puerarin (PUE), an isoflavone with anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation and neuroprotection effects, has been widely applied to the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in clinics in China. In the current study, we reported that the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of marketed products was the PUE monohydrate (PUEMH). During its supersaturated dissolution, the PUE concentration quickly reached a plateau, followed by a gradually concentration decrease to another lower plateau. In order to explore the internal mechanism of above phenomenon, the solid residues after saturated dissolution test were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermal gravity analysis (TGA) and Karl Fisher titration (KFT). PXRD suggested that a novel PUE crystal different from PUEMH formed during its dissolution, the following TGA and KFT confirmed the generation of PUE dihydrate (PUEDH) with much lower solubility. Moreover, polyvinylpyrrolidones (PVPK12, PVPK30 and PVPK90) were added in the dissolution medium to investigate their potential inhibition effects on such crystal transformation during dissolution process. We observed that polymers could inhibit the transformation from PUEMH to PUEDH and result in much higher PUE concentration level than that in pure water.