Effects of Various Flavors of Baijiu on the Microbial Communities, Metabolic Pathways, and Flavor Structures of Dongbei Suancai.

This study aimed to assess the effects of Chinese Baijiu with different flavors as supplementary material on microbial communities and flavor formation during inoculated fermentation of Chinese Dongbei Suancai. The results showed that the addition of Fen flavor Baijiu significantly increased the relative abundance of Candida, Luzhou flavor Baijiu increased the relative abundance of Pedobacter and Hannaella, while Maotai flavor Baijiu increased the Chryseobacterium and Kazachstania. A total of 226 volatile metabolites were detected in Suancai fermented when adding different flavors of Baijiu. Furthermore, the significantly upregulated metabolites (p < 0.01) of Suancai after adding Baijiu increased by 328.57%, whereas the significantly downregulated metabolites decreased by 74.60%. Simultaneously, the addition of Baijiu promoted the synthesis and decomposition of amino acids and short-chain fatty acids in the early and middle stages of fermentation. Further, Maotai flavor Baijiu improved the diversification of metabolic pathways in the late stage of Suancai fermentation. The E-nose response showed that sulfur-organic, broad-alcohol, sulfur-chlor was the principal differential flavor in Suancai caused by adding Baijiu with different flavors. Simultaneously, Fen flavor Baijiu and Luzhou flavor Baijiu accelerated the formation of the Suancai flavor. These results indicated that Baijiu with different flavors had significant effects on the flavor formation of inoculated fermented Suancai.

Comparison of the Efficacy Among Nilotinib, Dasatinib, Flumatinib and Imatinib in Newly Diagnosed Chronic-Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients: A Real-World Multi-Center Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data comprehensively comparing therapy responses and outcomes among nilotinib, dasatinib, flumatinib and imatinib for newly diagnosed chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia in a real-world setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from patients with chronic-phase CML receiving initial a second-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (2G-TKI, nilotinib, dasatinib or flumatinib) or imatinib therapy from 77 Chinese centers were retrospectively interrogated. Propensity-score matching (PSM) analyses were performed to to compare therapy responses and outcomes among these 4 TKIs. RESULTS: 2,496 patients receiving initial nilotinib (n = 512), dasatinib (n = 134), flumatinib (n = 411) or imatinib (n = 1,439) therapy were retrospectively interrogated in this study. PSM analyses indicated that patients receiving initial nilotinib, dasatinib or flumatinib therapy had comparable cytogenetic and molecular responses (p = .28-.91) and survival outcomes including failure-free survival (FFS, p = .28-.43), progression-free survival (PFS, p = .19-.93) and overall survival (OS) (p values = .76-.78) but had significantly higher cumulative incidences of cytogenetic and molecular responses (all p values < .001) and higher probabilities of FFS (p < .001-.01) than those receiving imatinib therapy, despite comparable PFS (p = .18-.89) and OS (p = .23-.30). CONCLUSION: Nilotinib, dasatinib and flumatinib had comparable efficacy, and significantly higher therapy responses and higher FFS rates than imatinib in newly diagnosed CML patients. However, there were no significant differences in PFS and OS among these 4 TKIs. These real-world data may provide additional evidence for routine clinical assessments to identify more appropriate therapies.

Effects of inoculation with a binary mixture of Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc citreum on cell wall components of Chinese Dongbei suancai.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of inoculation with a starter culture consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum LNJ002 and Leuconostoc citreum BNCC 194779 on microbial community, cell wall polysaccharide characteristics, cell wall degrading enzymes, and microstructure during Chinese Dongbei suancai fermentation. The results showed that Lactobacillus (98.75%) was the dominant genus during fermentation of Dongbei suancai. The principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) suggested that inoculation with Lactobacillus promoted the stability of microbial community structure during Chinese Dongbei suancai fermentation. Besides, the lower content in cellulose (80.28 ± 2.61 ug/mg) and pectin (53.56 ± 2.67 ug/mg) observed in the inoculated fermented suancai. Simultaneously, the inoculated fermented suancai had the most decreases in SR 1 (70.35%) and SR 3 (72.06%) and the most increase in SR 2 (950%), which suggested that inoculation intensified the decrease of the linearity and the RG-1 branching degree of pectin. The contents of polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME) in inoculated fermented suancai were 21.06% and 21.86% higher than those in naturally fermented suancai. In addition, the surface of suancai leaves gradually changed from smooth to rough during fermentation, which was accelerated by inoculation. Moreover, Lactobacillus, Aspergillus, Wallemia and Mucor were all negatively correlated with cellulose and GalA. These results revealed that inoculation promoted the formation of dominant genus structure during suancai fermentation, changed the effects of enzymes on the degradation of cell wall components, thereby accelerated the formation of Chinese Dongbei suancai texture.

Microbial communities and metabolite profiles during the fermentation of Chinese Dongbei suancai with Chinese baijiu as supplementary material.

BACKGROUND: In industrial production of suancai, baijiu is commonly used to inhibit the spoilage bacteria and enhance the flavor. However, the effects of baijiu on the microbial diversity and metabolic pathways of suancai are rarely reported in the literature. This study aimed to explore the microbial community, its predicted functional roles, and the metabolites formed during fermentation of Chinese Dongbei suancai fermented using a mixed starter with Chinese baijiu as supplementary material. RESULTS: Results showed that Lactobacillus, Enterobacter, and Leuconostoc were the major bacterial genera in the Dongbei suancai fermented by adding baijiu. Linear discriminant analysis effect size indicated that Leuconostoc was the major biomarker in the early stage of fermentation, whereas Lactococcus, Weissella, and Lactobacillus plantarum were biomarkers in the middle and later stages of fermentation. A total of 638 metabolites were detected in suancai fermented by adding baijiu. However, the principal component analysis showed that baijiu significantly affected the metabolites of suancai in the early and later stages of fermentation. Furthermore, 58, 22, and 26 significantly differential metabolites (P < 0.01) were found on day 0, day 2, and day 30 of fermentation respectively. Moreover, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Enterobacter had positive correlations with amino acids, nucleotides, organic acids, alcohols, and esters. Functional analysis implied that carbohydrate, amino acid, energy, and nucleotide metabolism were the major determinants of the characteristics of suancai fermented with baijiu as supplementary material. CONCLUSION: Baijiu changed the metabolites of inoculated fermented Dongbei suancai. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Accuracy of the Sysmex UF-5000 analyzer for urinary tract infection screening and pathogen classification.

The screening performance of urine flow cytometry parameters (e.g., white blood cell and bacteria) for urinary tract infection (UTI) has been widely recognized. The majority of previous studies, however, investigated the screening performance of Sysmex UF-1000i urine flow cytometer. This study aimed to investigate the screening performance of Sysmex UF-5000 analyzer, a third-generation urinary flow cytometer, for UTI and its novel parameter named Gram flag for discriminating gram-positive and negative pathogens. Urine specimens sent to the clinical microbiology laboratory of our hospital for bacterial culture between September 13, 2021, and November 15, 2021, were prospectively and consecutively collected. The Sysmex UF-5000 analyzer was used to determine urine white blood cell (WBC) and bacteria simultaneously. A chemical strip was used to assess urine nitrate. UTI was defined as positive urine bacterial culture > 104 CFU /ml. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, nomogram, decision tree, and decision curve were used to determine the screening performance of urine WBC, nitrate, and bacterial. A total of 246 UTIs and 425 non-UTIs were enrolled. The areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) for WBC and bacterial were 0.74 and 0.86, respectively. The decision curve showed that urine bacteria had a higher benefit than WBC. The nomogram indicated that urine bacterial had the largest effect on the probability of UTI. The sensitivity and specificity of the decision tree were 0.69 and 0.95, respectively. The flag of Gram-negative had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.93 in patients with urine bacteria > 1367 /µl. Therefore, we conclude that urine bacteria determined by the Sysmex UF-5000 had higher screening performance and greater benefit than WBC. The decision tree can be used to improve the screening performance of routine urinary parameters. The flag of Gram-negative is a reliable indicator to confirm gram-negative bacteria infection in UTI patients.

Patient-Reported Outcomes in Young Adults with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms.

INTRODUCTION: Genetic landscape, disease characteristics, and clinical outcomes of young adults with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) were reported. However, data on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in young adults with MPNs were rare. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional study to compare the PROs in respondents with thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV), and myelofibrosis (MF) by age at survey, including the young group (18-40 years), middle-aged group (41-60 years), and elderly group (>60 years). RESULTS: Of the 1,664 respondents with MPNs, 349 (21.0%) were young including 244 (69.9%) with ET, 34 (9.7%) with PV, and 71 (20.3%) with MF. In multivariate analyses, the young groups with ET and MF were associated with the lowest MPN-10 scores among the 3 age groups; those with MF, highest proportion of reporting negative impact of disease and therapy on their daily life and work. The young groups with MPNs had the highest physical component summary scores but the lowest mental component summary scores in those with ET. The young groups with MPNs were most concerned about fertility; those with ET, treatment-related adverse events and long-term efficacy of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that young adults with MPNs have different PROs compared with middle-aged and elderly patients.

Developing and validating a mortality prediction model for ICH in ITP: a nationwide representative multicenter study.

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a rare and life-threatening hemorrhagic event in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). However, its mortality and related risk factors remain unclear. Herein, we conducted a nationwide multicenter real-world study of ICH in adult ITP patients. According to data from 27 centers in China from 2005 to 2020, the mortality rate from ICH was 33.80% (48/142) in ITP adults. We identified risk factors by logistic univariate and multivariate logistic regression for 30-day mortality in a training cohort of 107 patients as follows: intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH), platelet count ≤10 × 109/L at ICH, a combination of serious infections, grade of preceding bleeding events, and Glasgow coma scale (GCS) level on admission. Accordingly, a prognostic model of 30-day mortality was developed based on the regression equation. Then, we evaluated the performance of the prognostic model through a bootstrap procedure for internal validation. Furthermore, an external validation with data from a test cohort with 35 patients from 11 other centers was conducted. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the internal and external validation were 0.954 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.910-0.998) and 0.942 (95% CI, 0.871-1.014), respectively. Both calibration plots illustrated a high degree of consistency in the estimated and observed risk. In addition, the decision curve analysis showed a considerable net benefit for patients. Thus, an application (47.94.162.105:8080/ich/) was established for users to predict 30-day mortality when ICH occurred in adult patients with ITP.

Characteristic volatiles analysis of Dongbei Suancai across different fermentation stages based on HS-GC-IMS with PCA.

Volatile flavor compounds determine the holistic, unique, sensory characteristic of fermented food. The characteristic volatiles across the fermentation process of Dongbei Suancai (DS) were investigated by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) combined with principal component analysis (PCA). A total of 19 representative flavor substances were identified in the samples. The differences of volatiles in naturally and inoculated-fermented DS from different fermentation stages were detected. Ethyl acetate, ethyl butanoate, ethyl 3-methyl butanoate, acetone, butanone, 2, 3-butanedione, and dimethyl disulfide are important volatile substances in DS, which were all found to be formed in the prophase of fermentation. As fermentation proceeds, inoculated DS showed an improved flavor with ester aromatic substances becoming enriched, including propyl bytanoate and ethyl hexanoate. Furthermore, inoculated fermentation leads to a typical component, namely 3-methylbutanol, being generated after the addition of Lactobacillus Plantarum LND 399 as a starter. The PCA was subsequently conducted based on the signal intensity of the identified volatile substances and showed that DS samples were distinguished favorably in mutually independent comparative spaces. This study revealed that the combination of HS-GC-IMS and PCA is an effective tool for analysis of the characteristic volatiles in DS samples. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study has shown that the combination of HS-GC-IMS and PCA is an effective tool for analysis of the characteristic volatiles in DS samples. This will provide a useful method for the identification and classification of DS flavor.

Identification of autophagy-associated genes and prognostic implications in adults with acute myeloid leukemia by integrated bioinformatics analysis.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common malignant blood neoplasma in adults. The prominent disease heterogeneity makes it challenging to foresee patient survival. Autophagy, a highly conserved degradative process, played indispensable and context-dependent roles in AML. However, it remains elusive whether autophagy-associated stratification could accurately predict prognosis of AML patients. Here, we developed a prognostic model based on autophagy-associated genes, and constructed scoring systems that help to predicte the survival of AML patients in both TCGA data and independent AML cohorts. The Nomogram model also confirmed the autophagy-associated model by showing the high concordance between observed and predicted survivals. Additionally, pathway enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network unveiled functional signaling pathways that were associated with autophagy. Altogether, we constructed the autophagy-associated prognostic model that might be likely to predict outcome for AML patients, providing insights into the biological risk stratification strategies and potential therapeutic targets.

[Clinical Significance of Peripheral Blood EBV-DNA Determination and Genotyping in Lymphoma Patients].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical significance of Epstein-Barr virus（EBV） detection and classification in peripheral blood of lymphoma patients. METHODS: 101 lymphoma patients were enrolled, the clinical characteristics of the patients were collected, including ages, sex, types of lymphoma, Ann Arbor stages, extranodal infiltration and lactate dehyhrogenase. Fluorescent quantitative PCR technology was used to detect the EBV-DNA. Polymerase chain reaction and Agarose gel electrophoresis was used for determination of EB genotyping. The difference between curative effect in EBV-DNA+ and EBV-DNA－ patients, the correlation of adverse factors and EBV infection of the patients were analyzed. RESULTS: 68.3% (69/101) of the patients showed EBV-DNA positive. EBV-positive lymphoma patients showed more adverse prognostic factors than the patients with EBV-negative, which may lead to poorer disease outcome. Among the 46 B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, the overall response rate of EBV-positive patients (60.7%) was lower than EBV-negative patients(88.9%) (P<0.05); For 19 patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma, the overall response rate of EBV-positive patients (46.2%) was lower than EBV-negative patients (100%), the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Among 69 patients with EBV-infected lymphoma, 98.6% (68/69) showed type-2 EB virus, and 1.4% (1/69) were type-1 and type-2 mixed infections. CONCLUSION: Most of EBV-positive in lymphoma patients were EBV type 2, patients with EBV-DNA+ shows poorer efficacy than EBV-DNA－ patients.

Variables associated with patient-reported outcomes in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms.

We explored variables associated with patient-reported outcomes (PROs) including symptom burden, impact on daily life and work, obstacles during therapy, satisfaction level with therapy, and health-related quality of life in 1500 respondents with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) including essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV) and myelofibrosis (MF) in a multicenter, cross-sectional study across China, a representative of the developing countries. In multivariate analyses, urban household registration and higher education level were significantly-associated with no symptoms at diagnosis in respondents with ET or MF. CALR mutation was significantly-associated with lower MPN-10 scores in respondents with MF. Higher MPN-10 scores were significantly-associated with negative impact on daily life and work as well as lower satisfaction level in respondents with ET, PV and MF. Receiving ruxolitinib was significantly-associated with high satisfaction and satisfaction in respondents with MF. In addition, other demographics and clinical variables were also impacting PROs.

Performance of D-dimer for predicting sepsis mortality in the intensive care unit.

INTRODUCTION: The prognostic value of D-dimer (DD) in sepsis remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the performance of DD for predicting sepsis mortality in the hospital and for identifying its potential correlates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinical and laboratory data of adult sepsis patients were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC III, v1.4) database using the structured query language (SQL). The database contains critical illness admitted to the intensive care unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center between June 2001 and October 2012. The association between DD and mortality was investigated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, restricted cubic spline and logistic regression analysis. Subgroup analysis was also used for identifying DD correlates. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 358 sepsis patients. Those who died during hospital stay (N = 160) had significantly higher DD values than those who survived (N = 198). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of DD was 0.59 (P < 0.010). In subgroup analysis, white blood cell (WBC) count > 18 x109/L and vasopressor therapy significantly decreased DD diagnostic performance. Categorical DD value was independently associated with hospital mortality after sequential organ failure score (SOFA) and blood lactate adjustment. Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a U-shape relationship between DD and in-hospital mortality. DISCUSSION: We conclude that the accuracy of DD for predicting in-hospital sepsis mortality depends on WBC count and vasopressor therapy. Both low and extremely elevated DD values are associated with higher risk of death.

Risk stratification and outcomes of intracranial hemorrhage in patients with immune thrombocytopenia under 60 years of age.

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating complication of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). However, information on ICH in ITP patients under the age of 60 years is limited, and no predictive tools are available in clinical practice. A total of 93 adult patients with ITP who developed ICH before 60 years of age were retrospectively identified from 2005 to 2019 by 27 centers in China. For each case, 2 controls matched by the time of ITP diagnosis and the duration of ITP were provided by the same center. Multivariate analysis identified head trauma (OR = 3.216, 95%CI 1.296-7.979, P =.012), a platelet count ≤ 15,000/µL at the time of ITP diagnosis (OR = 1.679, 95%CI 1.044-2.698, P =.032) and severe/life-threatening bleeding (severe bleeding vs. mild bleeding, OR = 1.910, 95%CI 1.088-3.353, P =.024; life-threatening bleeding vs. mild bleeding, OR = 2.620, 95%CI 1.360-5.051, P =.004) as independent risk factors for ICH. Intraparenchymal hemorrhage (OR = 5.191, 95%CI 1.717-15.692, P =.004) and a history of severe bleeding (OR = 4.322, 95%CI 1.532-12.198, P =.006) were associated with the 30-day outcome of ICH. These findings may facilitate ICH risk stratification and outcome prediction in patients with ITP.

Diagnostic accuracy of circulating miR-126 for malignant pleural mesothelioma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Circulating microRNAs are novel diagnostic markers for various types of cancer. Several studies have investigated the diagnostic accuracy of circulating miR-126 for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), but the results varied. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the diagnostic value of circulating miR-126 for MPM. METHODS: The PubMed database was searched to identify potentially eligible studies published before October 2020. The studies investigating the diagnostic value of circulating miR-126 for MPM were included in a systematic review and meta-analysis. A bivariate model was used to pool eligible studies' sensitivity and specificity. The revised tool for the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2) was used to assess eligible studies' quality. RESULTS: Four studies with 156 MPM patients and 459 controls were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of circulating miR-126 for MPM were 0.71 and 0.69, respectively. A high risk of bias was observed in the domains of patient selection, index test, and flow and timing. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating miR-126 has limited value for diagnosing MPM. Considering that the available studies have a high risk of bias, further rigorous studies are needed to assess the diagnostic value of circulating miR-126 for MPM.

Diagnostic value of microRNAs for malignant pleural mesothelioma: A mini-review.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a type of cancer originating from the pleura with high aggressiveness and poor prognosis. A timely diagnosis is crucial to improve its prognosis. Laboratory biomarkers have significant advantages of reduced invasiveness, low cost, and are observer-independent, and therefore represent a promising diagnostic tool for MPM. MicroRNA is a family of non-coding RNA that regulates gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Accumulated studies showed that microRNA, either in tissue, circulating, and body fluid, has potential diagnostic value for various disorders. Here, we reviewed the diagnostic value of microRNA for MPM.

Path analysis of non-enzymatic browning in Dongbei Suancai during storage caused by different fermentation conditions.

A non-enzymatic browning reaction occurs easily in Dongbei Suancai (DS) during storage. Using the method of path analysis, the changes in contents of VC (ascorbic acid), polyphenol, reducing sugar, amino nitrogen, and 5-HMF (5-hydroxymethyl furfural) were investigated to analyze the direct pathways and determinants of browning caused by pre-production blanching at 100 °C (R-100), salt-addition increased from 2% to 6% (Y-6) and fermentation time extended from 30 d to 40 d (T-40), respectively. The results showed that R-100 could delay the browning by inhibiting two direct pathways of oxidative decomposition of VC and oxidation-polymerization of polyphenols, but T-40 could lead to an increase in degree of browning for which primary determinant was the interaction between polyphenol and reducing sugar, while Y-6 had no obvious effect on browning pathway and determinants. R-100 was thus deemed to be a good measure with inhibiting non-enzymatic browning in DS during storage.

[Detection of JAK2V617F and CALR Gene Mutations by Multiplex of Patients with Myeloproliferative Neoplasms PCR-Capillary Electrophoresis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the proformance of multiplex PCR and capillary electrophoresis(MPCE) in the detection of JAK2V617F and CALR mutation in myeloproliferative neoplasms(MPN). METHODS: The specificity primers of JAK2617F gene mutation and the primers of CALR gene were designed at the same time. The JAK2V617F and CALR gene primers were labeled with Cy5 fluorescence, all the primers were mixed in one tube for multiplex PCR and the PCR prodcuts were analysised by capillary electrophoresis. Then detection limit and sensitivity of MPCE were evaluated, and compared with comercial diagnostic kit. RESULTS: JAK2V617F and CALR gene mutations could be detect by MPCE in one PCR test. JAK2V617F mutation could be detected at 0.01 ng genomic DNA, double positive JAK2V617F and CLAR gene mutations could be detected at 0.1 ng genomic DNA, at least 0.1% JAK2V617F positive mutation could be detected. The consistency between MPCE and commercial diagnostic gene mutation kit was 100%. CONCLUSION: It is developed that a new gene mutation detection method of JAK2 V617F and CLAR gene based on MPCE in our experiment and it can be used as a new reagent for molecular diagnosis of MPN patients.