Pulsed Wave Doppler Ultrasound Is Useful to Assess Vasomotor Response in Patients with Multiple System Atrophy and Well Correlated with Tilt Table Study

The study aim was to assess sympathetic vasomotor response (SVR) by using pulsed wave Doppler (PWD) ultrasound in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and correlate with the tilt table study. We recruited 18 male patients and 10 healthy men as controls. The SVR of the radial artery was evaluated by PWD, using inspiratory cough as a provocative maneuver. The response to head-up tilt was studied by a tilt table with simultaneous heart rate and blood pressure recording. The hemodynamic variables were compared between groups, and were examined by correlation analysis. Regarding SVR, MSA patients exhibited a prolonged latency and less heart rate acceleration following inspiratory cough. Compared with the tilt table test, the elevation of heart rate upon SVR was positively correlated to the increase of heart rate after head-up tilt. The correlation analysis indicated that the magnitude of blood pressure drop from supine to upright was positively associated with the SVR latency but negatively correlated with the heart rate changes upon SVR. The present study demonstrated that blunted heart rate response might explain MSA's vulnerability to postural challenge. PWD may be used to predict cardiovascular response to orthostatic stress upon head-up tilt in MSA patients

Applicability of Non-conventional Protein Feedstuff

本研究旨在以體外模擬消化試驗探討非傳統性蛋白質原料及添加外源蛋白之消化情形，並與肉雞活體試驗相對照。 體外模擬消化試驗採3×3複因子處理，以大豆粕（soybean meal；SBM）、葵花籽粕（sunflower meal；SFM）及菜籽粕（canola meal；CM）為蛋白質來源，並分別配合一完全不添加外源酵素之對照組及添加等力價（0.05 unit / g feed）之鳳梨酵素（bromelain；750 units / g solid）或微生物來源之蛋白（microbial protease；45 units / g solid）進行試驗。經體外模擬消化試驗後三種原料之蛋白質、胺基酸消化率及水溶性蛋白質含量皆以葵花籽粕較其餘二者為佳（P<0.05），添加外源蛋白皆可明顯改善胺基酸消化率。體外消化後分子量大於150 kDa以上之水溶性蛋白質的比例，大豆粕高於葵花籽粕與菜籽粕；而分子量小於1 kDa之比例，大豆粕顯著低於其餘兩者，此結果與SDS - PAGE之蛋白分佈結果一致。 可利用率試驗採3×3複因子處理，以三種蛋白質原料配製成等蛋白之半純化飼糧及配合與體外模擬消化試驗相同之三種酵素處理。90隻14日齡及45隻35日齡愛拔益加種公雞各分配至45個試驗單位並逢機分為9處理組進行之。結果顯示，三週齡及六週齡雞隻之蛋白質、胺基酸可利用率及採食後1小時所測得之血漿游離胺基酸含量均以菜籽粕及葵花籽粕較大豆粕為佳（P < 0.05），添加微生物來源之蛋白具顯著改善之效果（P < 0.05），但添加鳳梨酵素則否。 生長試驗採4×2複因子處理，以704隻愛拔益加種雛雞逢機分為32組，處理為葵花籽粕取代飼糧中大豆粕蛋白質之0、5、10、20 ％，及有無添加微生物來源之蛋白。結果顯示，於等能量等蛋白條件下，葵花籽粕取代大豆粕及酵素處理，未顯著影響肉雞生長期之生長性狀（P > 0.05），但於肉雞肥育期及全期，葵花籽粕取代量增加，採食量與體增重均隨之增加（P < 0.05），飼料效率則無顯著影響，添加酵素顯著改善其生長性狀。 以體外模擬消化試驗、肉雞可利用率試驗顯示葵花籽粕之蛋白質為三種蛋白質原料中最易被消化酵素水解之蛋白質，然蛋白質原料於肉雞飼糧之應用效果，需綜合飼糧中所有影響因子，故除葵花籽粕之蛋白質及胺基酸含量不足外，另需考慮葵花籽粕之之飼糧纖維對生長所造成之影響，本試驗以葵花籽粕取代20 ％大豆粕蛋白質對肉雞生長並無不良影響。Applicability of Non-conventional Protein Feedstuff in Broiler Diets The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in a non-conventional protein feedstuff with exogenous protease supplement using an in-vitro digestive trial contrasted to an in-vivo broiler trial. Soybean meal (SBM), sunflower meal (SFM) and canola meal (CM) were used as the protein feed source, with or without the same activity of bromelain (750 units / solids) or microbial protease (45 units / solids) administered in 9 treatments for a 3 × 3 factorial experiment. The results showed that protein and amino acid digestibility and the percentage of water-soluble protein of SFM after in vitro digestion was significantly higher than the other trial diets. There was a significant affect on amino acid digestibility form the exogenous proteases supplement. The water soluble protein distribution showed that the percentage of molecular weight greater than 150 kDa in the SBM was higher than the other trial proteins. The molecular weight less than 1 kDa in SFM was significantly lower than the other. The SDS - PAGE polypeptide distribution showed the same soluble protein trend. Ninety, fourteen day old and 45, thirty-five day old Arber Acer broilers used for the in vivo availability trial were randomly divided into 9 groups for a 3 × 3 factorial experiment. The experimental diet was formulated into an isonitrogenic semipurified diet with the same protein and exogenous proteases supplement used in the in—vitro trial. The result showed that the SFM protein and amino acid availability was higher than SBM and CM in the growth and finishing periods. The plasma total free amino acid concentration taken in the first hour after a meal had same trend as the availability data (P < 0.05). Compared with the control, the addition of microbial protease had a significant effect on improving protein and amino acid availability and total free amino acids in the plasma. The bromelain supplement showed no improvement on protein and amino acid availability. Seven hundred and four Arber Acer chicks used for the growth trial were randomly divided into 32 pens for a 4 × 2 factorial experiment. The treatment involved four levels of SFM protein substitute of SBM protein (0, 5, 10 and 20 %) in isoenergenic and isonitrogenic diets, with or without microbial protease supplement. Results showed that there were no significant differences in feed intake, efficiency and weight gain during the growing period between all treatments. During the finishing period and for the entire trial period, feed intake and weight gain increased with increasing levels of SFM in the diet. Addition of microbial protease to the diet had a significant effect on improving growth performance. In-vitro digestive trial and in-vivo availability trial showed SFM protein is hydrolysed by digestive enzymes more easily than the other protein source. We must think upon all effect to realize the applicability of SFM. So, besides the amount of crude protein and amino acid is not enough to broilers. High dirtary fiber content in SFM may affect broilers' performance. There was no significant effect on feed efficiency when a SFM protein substitute of 20 % SBM protein was used in the growth trial.目 錄 壹、 中 文 摘 要7 貳、 前 言9 參、 文 獻 檢 討12 一、飼糧蛋白質於單胃動物體內之消化12 （一）胃內之消化及消化後蛋白質之分佈12 （二）腸道內之消化及消化後蛋白質之分佈12 （三）刷狀緣上之消化13 （四）細胞內之消化14 二、飼糧蛋白質於動物體內之吸收14 （一）吸收方式14 （二）血漿內游離胺基酸之變化15 三、飼糧蛋白質於動物體內之排出16 （一）內源性氮耗損16 1.飼糧中影響內源性氮的因子16 （1）乾物質採食量16 （2）飼糧纖維17 （3）抗營養因子17 2.內源性氮耗損之組成18 3.飼糧蛋白質與內源性氮之關係18 （二）後腸發酵之菌體蛋白質19 （三）排泄物中之尿酸態氮20 四、影響飼糧蛋白質利用之因子20 （一）胺基酸之組成及平衡20 （二）加工處理及方式21 五、非傳統性蛋白質原料之一般特性22 （一）葵花籽粕之一般特性22 （二）菜籽粕之一般特性24 六、體外模擬消化試驗及活體試驗之比較26 肆、 材 料 與 方 法28 一、材 料28 （一）飼料蛋白質原料28 （二）蛋白28 二、方 法29 Ⅰ.利用in vitro模擬消化試驗探討非傳統性蛋白質原料及蛋白應用之效果29 （一）兩段式in vitro模擬消化試驗29 （二）飼料原料之近似分析及蛋白質消化率之計算31 （三）in vitro模擬消化試驗後之胺基酸消化率31 （四）in vitro模擬消化試驗後之蛋白分佈32 （五）in vitro模擬消化試驗後水溶性蛋白質之含量及計算33 （六）in vitro模擬消化試驗後水溶性蛋白質分子量之分佈33 Ⅱ.以動物可利用率試驗探討非傳統性蛋白質原料及蛋白添加之效果34 （一）試驗動物34 （二）試驗設計及方法34 （三）分析方法37 1.飼料及排泄物之分析與利用率測定37 2.血漿游離胺基酸之測定37 Ⅲ.肉雞飼糧應用非傳統性蛋白質飼料（葵花籽粕）及補充蛋白之效果探討39 （一）試驗動物39 （二）試驗設計及方法39 三、統計分析43 （一）分析方法43 （二）試驗模式43 伍、 結 果 與 討 論44 Ⅰ.利用IN VITRO模擬消化試驗探討非傳統性蛋白質原料及蛋白應用之效果44 一、原料之組成分及胺基酸組成44 二、in vitro模擬消化試驗後之蛋白質及胺基酸消化率49 三、in vitro模擬消化試驗後之蛋白分佈54 四、in vitro模擬消化試驗後之水溶性蛋白質含量57 五、in vitro模擬消化試驗後之水溶性蛋白質分子量分佈59 Ⅱ.以動物消化試驗探討非傳統性蛋白質原料及蛋白應用之效果62 一、蛋白質可利用率62 二、胺基酸可利用率65 三、血漿游離胺基酸變化69 Ⅲ.肉雞飼糧應用非傳統性蛋白質原料（葵花籽粕）及補充蛋白之效果探討73 陸、 結 論80 柒、 參 考 文 獻81 捌、 英 文 摘 要96 玖、小 傳9

Development of a Longitudinal Diagnosis and Prognosis in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: Intelligent Clinical Decision-Making Scheme

Previous studies on CKD patients have mostly been retrospective, cross-sectional studies. Few studies have assessed the longitudinal assessment of patients over an extended period. In consideration of the heterogeneity of CKD progression. It&rsquo;s critical to develop a longitudinal diagnosis and prognosis for CKD patients. We proposed an auto Machine Learning (ML) scheme in this study. It consists of four main parts: classification pipeline, cross-validation (CV), Taguchi method and improve strategies. This study includes datasets from 50,174 patients, data were collected from 32 chain clinics and three special physical examination centers, between 2015 and 2019. The proposed auto-ML scheme can auto-select the level of each strategy to associate with a classifier which finally shows an acceptable testing accuracy of 86.17%, balanced accuracy of 84.08%, sensitivity of 90.90% and specificity of 77.26%, precision of 88.27%, and F1 score of 89.57%. In addition, the experimental results showed that age, creatinine, high blood pressure, smoking are important risk factors, and has been proven in previous studies. Our auto-ML scheme light on the possibility of evaluation for the effectiveness of one or a combination of those risk factors. This methodology may provide essential information and longitudinal change for personalized treatment in the future

Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Enhances Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition, and SPARC Expression is Associated with Tumor Grade in Head and Neck Cancer

Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is a secreted protein which is involved in various biological processes. SPARC expression is associated with tumor metastasis and poor prognosis in several types of cancer. However, the SPARC-induced signaling pathway was not fully understood in head and neck cancer. In this study, our results showed that SPARC treatment promoted cell proliferation and migration in head and neck cancer cell lines FaDu and Detroit 562. In addition, SPARC induced expression of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulators, including Slug, Snail, and Twist in Detroit 562. The results of phospho-kinase array analysis showed that SPARC treatment increased phosphorylation of some molecules including protein kinase B (PKB/AKT), ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK), and extracellular signal–regulated kinases (ERK). The expression of SPARC-induced EMT regulator Slug was suppressed by AKT inhibitor, but not ERK and RSK inhibitors. The SPARC expression in grade IV tumor samples is higher when compared to that in grade I–III tumor samples. Our results suggest that SPARC treatment enhances the EMT signaling pathway via activation of AKT, and exogenous SPARC and tumor expressing SPARC might be associated with tumor progression in head and neck cancers

Correction: Chang, C.-H.; et al. Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Enhances Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition, and SPARC Expression Is Associated with Tumor Grade in Head and Neck Cancer. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18, 1556

We would like to submit the correction to our published paper [1]. [...

Purple Sweet Potato Leaf Extract Induces Apoptosis and Reduces Inflammatory Adipokine Expression in 3T3-L1 Differentiated Adipocytes

Background. Purple sweet potato leaves (PSPL) are widely grown and are considered a healthy vegetable in Taiwan. PSPL contain a high content of flavonoids, and the boiling water-extracted PSPL (PSPLE) is believed to prevent metabolic syndrome. However, its efficacy has not yet been verified. Therefore, we investigated the effect of PSPLE on adipocytes. Methods. The differentiated 3T3-L1 cells used in this study were derived from preadipocytes that were differentiated into adipocytes using an adipogenic agent (insulin, dexamethasone, and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine); approximately 90% of the cells were differentiated using this method. Results. Treating the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells with PSPLE caused a dose-dependent decrease in the number of adipocytes rather than preadipocytes. In addition, treatment with PSPLE resulted in apoptosis of the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells as determined by DAPI analysis and flow cytometry. PSPLE also increased the expression of cleaved caspase-3 and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP). Furthermore, PSPLE induced downregulation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) gene expression in the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Conclusions. These results suggest that PSPLE not only induced apoptosis but also downregulated inflammation-associated genes in the differentiated 3T3-L1 cells

Surface vimentin is critical for the cell entry of SARS-CoV

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) caused a global panic due to its high morbidity and mortality during 2002 and 2003. Soon after the deadly disease outbreak, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) was identified as a functional cellular receptor in vitro and in vivo for SARS-CoV spike protein. However, ACE2 solely is not sufficient to allow host cells to become susceptible to SARS-CoV infection, and other host factors may be involved in SARS-CoV spike protein-ACE2 complex

Large Area Nanoparticle Alignment by Chemical Lift-Off Lithography

Nanoparticle alignment on the substrate attracts considerable attention due to its wide application in different fields, such as mechanical control, small size electronics, bio/chemical sensing, molecular manipulation, and energy harvesting. However, precise nanoparticle positioning and deposition control with high fidelity are still challenging. Herein, a straightforward strategy for high quality nanoparticle-alignment by chemical lift-off lithography (CLL) is demonstrated. This technique creates high resolution self-assembled monolayer (SAM) chemical patterns on gold substrates, enabling nanoparticle-selective deposition and precise alignment. The fabricated nanoparticle arrangement geometries and dimensions are well-controllable in a large area. With proper nanoparticle surface functionality control and adequate substrate molecular manipulation, well-defined nanoparticle arrays with single-particle-wide alignment resolution are achieved

The cientificWorldJOURNAL Clinical Study Pulsed Wave Doppler Ultrasound Is Useful to Assess Vasomotor Response in Patients with Multiple System Atrophy and Well Correlated with Tilt Table Study

The study aim was to assess sympathetic vasomotor response (SVR) by using pulsed wave Doppler (PWD) ultrasound in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and correlate with the tilt table study. We recruited 18 male patients and 10 healthy men as controls. The SVR of the radial artery was evaluated by PWD, using inspiratory cough as a provocative maneuver. The response to head-up tilt was studied by a tilt table with simultaneous heart rate and blood pressure recording. The hemodynamic variables were compared between groups, and were examined by correlation analysis. Regarding SVR, MSA patients exhibited a prolonged latency and less heart rate acceleration following inspiratory cough. Compared with the tilt table test, the elevation of heart rate upon SVR was positively correlated to the increase of heart rate after head-up tilt. The correlation analysis indicated that the magnitude of blood pressure drop from supine to upright was positively associated with the SVR latency but negatively correlated with the heart rate changes upon SVR. The present study demonstrated that blunted heart rate response might explain MSA&apos;s vulnerability to postural challenge. PWD may be used to predict cardiovascular response to orthostatic stress upon head-up tilt in MSA patients