Associations between estimation of salt intake and salt-restriction spoons and hypertension status in patients with poorly controlled hypertension: a community-based study from Huzhou City, Eastern China.

BACKGROUND: As the prevalence of hypertension increases in China, it is advised to use salt-restriction spoons (SRS) as a lifestyle modification. This study aimed to examine the associations between estimated salt consumption, SRS usage, and the hypertension status in individuals with poorly controlled hypertension. METHODS: Data was collected in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, in 2021 using convenience sampling. The analysis involved ordinal logistic regression and restricted cubic splines to assess the relevant factors. RESULTS: The study found that 73.34% of the 1215 patients had uncontrolled blood pressure (BP). Urinary excretion was assessed through the utilization of the Kawasaki, INTERSALT, and Tanaka formulas. The outcomes of these three methodologies revealed average daily sodium excretion values of 208.70 (65.65), 154.78 (33.91), and 162.61 (40.87) mmol, respectively. The prevalence of utilizing SRS was found to be 37.78% in this study. Despite the acknowledgment among SRS users of the potential hazards associated with excessive salt consumption, there exists a contradictory pattern of attitudes and behaviors concerning salt reduction. Among individuals with different levels of salt intake (quartiles 1-4, Q1 vs Q4), there was a positive association between limiting salt and hypertension status when controlling for other variables (Kawasaki adjusted OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.43-0.79; INTERSALT adjusted OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.41-0.92; Tanaka adjusted OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.45-0.92, p < 0.05). Our research also revealed that using or used SRS was a protective factor for blood BP control (adjusted OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.64-0.99, P < 0.05). The restricted cubic spline plots illustrated a monotonic upward relationship between estimated 24-h urinary Na and BP (P-overall association < 0.05; P-non-linear association > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The use of dietary SRS could result in decrease in daily salt intake for BP control in patients with poorly controlled hypertension. To reduce the impact of high BP in China, additional studies are required to create interventions that can enhance the results for patients.

Expression and characterization of a protease-resistant ß-d-fructofuranosidase BbFFase9 gene suitable for preparing invert sugars from soybean meal.

A novel gene (BbFFase9), with an ORF of 1557 bp that encodes ß-d-fructofuranosidase from Bifidobacteriaceae bacterium, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein (BbFFase9) was successfully purified and showed a single band with a molecular mass of 66.2 kDa. This was confirmed as a ß-d-fructofuranosidase and exhibited a high specific activity of 209.2 U/mg. Although BbFFase9 was a soluble protein, it exhibited excellent tolerance to proteases such as pepsin, trypsin, acidic protease, neutral protease and Flavourzyme®, indicating its potential applicability in different fields. BbFFase9 exhibited typical invertase activity, and highly catalyzed the hydrolysis of the α1↔2ß glycosidic linkage in molecules containing fructosyl moieties but with no detectable fructosyltransferase activity. It was optimally active at pH 6.5 and 50 °C and stable between pH 6.0 and 9.0 at a temperature of up to 45 °C for 30 min BbFFase9 could also effectively hydrolyze galacto-oligosaccharides, which are a flatulence factor in soybean meal, thus releasing new types of product such as melibiose and mannotriose, or degrading them into invert sugars, the sweeter fructose and glucose. This study is the first to report the application of this type of ß-d-fructofuranosidase.

A Strategy for Rapid Acquisition of the ß-D-Fructofuranosidase Gene through Chemical Synthesis and New Function of Its Encoded Enzyme to Improve Gel Properties during Yogurt Processing.

A chemical gene synthesis strategy was developed in order to obtain ß-D-fructofuranosidase, and a novel gene, AlFFase3, was characterized from Aspergillus luchuensis and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was purified, showing a molecular mass of 68.0 kDa on SDS-PAGE, and displaying a specific activity towards sucrose of up to 771.2 U mg-1, indicating its exceptional enzymatic capacity. AlFFase3 exhibited stability between pH 5.5 and 7.5, with maximal activity at pH 6.5 and 40 °C. Impressively, AlFFase3, as a soluble protein, was resistant to digestion by various common proteases, including Flavourzyme, acidic protease, pepsin, neutral protease, Proteinase K, alkaline proteinase, and trypsin. AlFFase3 also demonstrated significant transfructosylation activity, with a yield of various fructooligosaccharides up to 67%, higher than almost all other reports. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the addition of AlFFase3 enhanced the growth of probiotics in yogurt, thereby increasing its nutritional value. AlFFase3 also improved the formation of yogurt gel, reducing the gel formation time and lowering the elasticity while increasing its viscosity, thereby improving the palatability of yogurt and reducing production costs.

Efficient Degradation for Raffinose and Stachyose of a ß-D-Fructofuranosidase and Its New Function to Improve Gel Properties of Coagulated Fermented-Soymilk.

A novel ß-D-fructofuranosidase gene was identified via database mining from Leptothrix cholodnii. The gene was chemically synthesized and expressed in Escherichia coli, resulting in the production of a highly efficient enzyme known as LcFFase1s. The enzyme exhibited optimal activity at pH 6.5 and a temperature of 50 °C while maintaining stability at pH 5.5-8.0 and a temperature below 50 °C. Furthermore, LcFFase1s exhibited remarkable resistance to commercial proteases and various metal ions that could interfere with its activity. This study also revealed a new hydrolysis function of LcFFase1s, which could completely hydrolyze 2% raffinose and stachyose within 8 h and 24 h, respectively, effectively reducing the flatulence factor in legumes. This discovery expands the potential applications of LcFFase1s. Additionally, the incorporation of LcFFase1s significantly reduced the particle size of coagulated fermented-soymilk gel, resulting in a smoother texture while maintaining the gel hardness and viscosity formed during fermentation. This represents the first report of ß-D-fructofuranosidase enhancing coagulated fermented-soymilk gel properties, highlighting promising possibilities for future applications of LcFFase1s. Overall, the exceptional enzymatic properties and unique functions of LcFFase1s render it a valuable tool for numerous applications.

Prevalence and influencing factors of comorbidity of chronic diseases among hypertensive patients with uncontrolled blood pressure in Huzhou City / 预防医学

Objective@#To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of comorbidity of chronic diseases among hypertensive patients with uncontrolled blood pressure in Huzhou City, so as to provide insights into community hypertension control. @*Methods@#Hypertensive patients with uncontrolled blood pressure at ages of 35 to 74 years were sampled using a cluster random sampling method from 5 districts (counties) of Huzhou City. Participants' demographics, living behaviors, and development of chronic diseases were collected using questionnaires, and the height, body weight, waist circumference and blood pressure were measured. Blood glucose, blood lipid and other biochemical parameters were detected, and the number and combination of comorbidity of chronic diseases were descriptively analyzed. Factors affecting the comorbidity of chronic diseases were identified using a multivariable ordinal logistic regression model.@*Results@# A total of 1 215 respondents were included, with a mean age of (60.83±7.76) years, and including 652 men (53.66%) and 563 women (46.34%). The prevalence of dyslipidemia, diabetes, hyperuricemia and cardiac encephalopathy was 45.10%, 30.95%, 23.05% and 5.10%, respectively. The prevalence of comorbidity of chronic diseases was 69.22% among respondents, and there were 497 respondents with one comorbidity (40.91%), 272 with two comorbidities (22.39%) and 72 with three and more comorbidities (5.93%). Hypertension+dyslipidemia (20.74%), hypertension+diabetes+dyslipidemia (9.96%) and hypertension+diabetes+dyslipidemia+hyperuricemia (4.36%) were predominant comorbid combinations. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that participants with overweight (OR=1.782, 95%CI: 1.390-2.286), obesity (OR=2.411, 95%CI: 1.802-3.222), grade 2 hypertension (OR=1.438, 95%CI: 1.077-1.919) had a higher risk of multiple comorbidities than those with normal body mass index and controlled blood pressure, and women (OR=0.563, 95%CI: 0.456-0.696) had a lower risk of multiple comorbidities than men. @*Conclusions@#The prevalence of comorbidity of chronic diseases was 69.22% among community hypertensive patients with uncontrolled blood pressure in Huzhou City, and the comorbidity of chronic diseases mainly included dyslipidemia and diabetes. Men, overweight, obesity and hypertension resulted in a high risk of comorbidity of chronic diseases.

Erratum: Influence of GLP-1 receptor agonist on insulin dosage and blood glucose control of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

[This corrects the article on p. 11814 in vol. 13, PMID: 34786110.].

Influence of GLP-1 receptor agonist on insulin dosage and blood glucose control of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) on cases with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in terms of insulin dosage and blood glucose (BG) control. METHODS: A total of 180 patients with T2DM admitted to our hospital between March 2016 and March 2019 were selected and assigned to a GLP-1RA group (GLP-1 group, n=100) and a control group (control group, n=80). Patients in the GLP-1 group were treated with GLP-1RA combined with insulin, while those in the other group were treated with insulin alone. The following items of each patient were determined: Body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure (BP), BG-related indexes, insulin dosage, insulin resistance index, cardiovascular function, serum lipid-related indexes, adverse reactions, total effective rate, and treatment satisfaction. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the GLP-1 group showed a decrease in weight, BMI, waist circumference, BP, BG-related indexes, and insulin resistance index, consumed less insulin dosage, and also showed a decline in cardiovascular function, serum lipid-related indexes (total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)), an increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), less adverse reactions, and higher total effective rate and treatment satisfaction. CONCLUSION: GLP-1RA contributes to better BG control of patients with T2DM, and it reduces the insulin dosage required during operation for its stimulation to the production of insulin.

Enhancing the oxidative stability of algal oil powders stabilized by egg yolk granules/lecithin composites.

This study reported a powder formulation containing omega-3-rich algal oil emulsions stabilized by egg yolk granules (EYGs)/lecithin composites. The improved physical stability of the algal oil samples due to increasing pH and lecithin addition was beneficial to the oxidative stability through analysis of free radical scavenging activities, metal ion chelating activities, and the release of primary and secondary oxidation products during accelerated storage (12 days, 60 °C). In addition, the effect of three antioxidants, i.e. ascorbic acid (VC), ascorbyl palmitate (AP), and α-tocopherol (VE), on lipid oxidation was investigated. Results showed that antioxidant partitioning at different regions of the emulsion system influenced its ability to prevent oxidation with the effectiveness of AP (at the O/W interface) > VE (in the oil phase) > VC (in the aqueous phase). This study developed a new powder-based emulsion formulation for algal oils with superior oxidative stability as an alternative source of omega-3.

Investigation and analysis of infant’s hand hygiene behavior in Huzhou urban childcare institutions / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate hand hygiene of children in kindergartens in Huzhou City, so as to provide basis for improving hand hygiene and conduct health education on hand hygiene related diseases.@*Methods@#A total of 343 children in 6 kindergartens in two districts of Huzhou City were observed by stratified cluster random sampling and observation.@*Results@#A total of 1 042 hand hygiene indications and 886 hand washing (85.03%). The overall hand-washing qualification rate was 53.35%. Within different kindergartens, children in the lowest level kindergartens had poor hand washing habits. There was a positive correlation between levels of kindergarten and children’s hand washing habits. Boys’ hand washing habits were relatively poor, 45.35 percent of boys’ had substandard hand washing habits, which was only 19.88 percent of girl. The hand hygiene behavior of children in primary class was better than that of middle class. The proportion of substandard hand washing of children in primary class and middle class was 23.13% and 39.80% respectively.@*Conclusion@#There is a big promotion space of hand hygiene habits of children in kindergartens, so it is necessary to strengthen compliance with hand hygiene and cultivate correct hand hygiene habits.

Knowledge and awareness of hand-foot-mouth disease among parents of kindergarten children / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand knowledge and awareness of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) and associated factors among parents of kindergarten children in urban district of Huzhou City and to provide a veference for making effective measure of health education of HFMD.@*Methods@#Self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate 851 parents from 6 kindergartens by stratified cluster random sampling.@*Results@#The overall recognition of HFMD was 8.15±3.43, and the qualified rate was 5.17%. Awareness rates of sources, transmission routes, symptoms and signs, as well as preventive measures were 34.08%, 20.80%, 3.41% and 30.32%, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that kindergarten type(B=-1.07), gender(B=0.70), age(B=-0.41), education level(B=1.60), occupation (B=-1.37) associated with awareness of HFMD (P<0.05).The top three sources of HFMD prevention and treatment were mobile messages(45.24%), kindergarten lectures (43.24%) and brochure/propaganda column(40.19%) .@*Conclusion@#The general knowledge and awareness of HFMD among parents of kindergartens children’s parents is low in urban district of Huzhou city. In order to improve the awareness and health-related behaviors among parents of kindergarten children to prevent HFMD, child care institutions and basic public health service health education programs should be relied on, to carry out appropriate health communication and intervention.