12 research outputs found

    Development Of Gi Sustainable Probiotic Beads Using Microencapsulation

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    Scientists tend to pay a lot attention to probiotics in recent years, due to its health related benefits for humans. Encapsulation is a necessary way to protect probiotics from being killed by harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, and to help probiotics to release in the intestinal environment. This study is mainly focusing on the encapsulation technique of Christensenella minuta, and the food product development of C. minuta beads. The extrusion technique was applied as the encapsulation method, with alginate as the encapsulation material. The effect of single encapsulation and double encapsulation of C. minuta was compared to determine the layers of encapsulation. Long term stability experiments of double encapsulation C. minuta beads indicated that the beads formed by the extrusion technique is stable and maintains the viability, which was 107.95 CFU/mg to 107.84 CFU/mg. Gelatin jelly and drinkable jelly were developed as potential probiotic food products in the study. Animal experiments and clinical trials are still required to test the feature of C. minuta beads for future study

    High Genetic Diversity of HIV-1 and Active Transmission Clusters among Male-to-Male Sexual Contacts (MMSCs) in Zhuhai, China

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    Monitoring genetic diversity and recent HIV infections (RHIs) is critical for understanding HIV epidemiology. Here, we report HIV-1 genetic diversity and RHIs in blood samples from 190 HIV-positive MMSCs in Zhuhai, China. MMSCs with newly reported HIV were enrolled from January 2020 to June 2022. A nested PCR was performed to amplify the HIV polymerase gene fragments at HXB2 positions 2604–3606. We constructed genetic transmission network at both 0.5% and 1.5% distance thresholds using the Tamura-Nei93 model. RHIs were identified using a recent infection testing algorithm (RITA) combining limiting antigen avidity enzyme immunoassay (LAg-EIA) assay with clinical data. The results revealed that 19.5% (37/190) were RHIs and 48.4% (92/190) were CRF07_BC. Two clusters were identified at a 0.5% distance threshold. Among them, one was infected with CRF07_BC for the long term, and the other was infected with CRF55_01B recently. We identified a total of 15 clusters at a 1.5% distance threshold. Among them, nine were infected with CRF07_BC subtype, and RHIs were found in 38.8% (19/49) distributed in eight genetic clusters. We identified a large active transmission cluster (n = 10) infected with a genetic variant, CRF79_0107. The multivariable logistic regression model showed that clusters were more likely to be RHIs (adjusted OR: 3.64, 95% CI: 1.51~9.01). The RHI algorithm can help to identify recent or ongoing transmission clusters where the prevention tools are mostly needed. Prompt public health measures are needed to contain the further spread of active transmission clusters

    The role of inflammatory biomarkers in the development and progression of pre-eclampsia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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    BackgroundPre-eclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy complication associated with maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Among the potential pathogenesis discussed, inflammation is considered an essential initiator of PE. Previous studies have compared the levels of various inflammatory biomarkers that indicate the existence of PE; however, the relative levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory biomarkers and their dynamic changes during PE progression remain unclear. This knowledge is essential to explain the occurrence and progression of the disease.ObjectiveWe aimed to identify the relationship between inflammatory status and PE using inflammatory biomarkers as indicators. We also discussed the underlying mechanism by which inflammatory imbalance contributes to PE by comparing the relative levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory biomarkers. Furthermore, we identified additional risk factors for PE.MethodsWe reviewed PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for articles published until 15th September 2022. Original articles that investigated inflammatory biomarkers in PE and normal pregnancy were included. We selected healthy pregnant women as controls. The inflammatory biomarkers in the case and control groups were expressed as standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals using a random-effects model. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Publication bias was assessed using Egger’s test.ResultsThirteen articles that investigated 2,549 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Patients with PE had significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) than the controls. CRP and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels were higher than those of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Patients with gestational age > 34 weeks had significantly higher IL-6 and TNF levels. Patients with higher systolic blood pressure had significantly higher IL-8, IL-10, and CRP levels.ConclusionInflammatory imbalance is an independent risk factor for PE development. Impairment of the anti-inflammatory system is a crucial initiating factor for PE development. Failed autoregulation, manifested as prolonged exposure to pro-inflammatory cytokines, leads to PE progression. Higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers suggest more severe symptoms, and pregnant women after 34 weeks of gestation are more susceptible to PE

    Comparison between HIV self-testing and facility-based HIV testing approach on HIV early detection among men who have sex with men: A cross-sectional study

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    Background To assess whether HIV self-testing (HIVST) has a better performance in identifying HIV-infected cases than the facility-based HIV testing (HIVFBT) approach. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among men who have sex with men (MSM) by using an online questionnaire (including information on sociodemographic, sexual biography, and HIV testing history) and blood samples (for limiting antigen avidity enzyme immunoassay, gene subtype testing, and taking confirmed HIV test). MSM who were firstly identified as HIV positive through HIVST and HIVFBT were compared. Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was used to explore any association between both groups and their subgroups. Results In total, 124 MSM HIV cases were identified from 2017 to 2021 in Zhuhai, China, including 60 identified through HIVST and 64 through HIVFBT. Participants in the HIVST group were younger (≤30 years, 76.7% vs. 46.9%), were better educated (>high school, 61.7% vs. 39.1%), and had higher viral load (≥1,000 copies/ml, 71.7% vs. 50.0%) than MSM cases identified through HIVFBT. The proportion of early HIV infection in the HIVST group was higher than in the HIVFBT group, identified using four recent infection testing algorithms (RITAs) (RITA 1, 46.7% vs. 25.0%; RITA 2, 43.3% vs. 20.3%; RITA 3, 30.0% vs. 14.1%; RITA 4, 26.7% vs. 10.9%; all p < 0.05). Conclusions The study showed that HIVST has better HIV early detection among MSM and that recent HIV infection cases mainly occur in younger and better-educated MSM. Compared with HIVFBT, HIVST is more accessible to the most at-risk population on time and tends to identify the case early. Further implementation studies are needed to fill the knowledge gap on this medical service model among MSM and other target populations

    Research Progress <i>in situ</i> Hf Isotopic Analysis of Oxide-type U-bearing Accessory Minerals

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    BACKGROUND: In recent years, the in situ Hf isotopic determination method of zircon has been widely used in isotopic geochemistry, and has become an important method to explore the genesis of rocks, the source of ore-forming materials and the evolution of crust and mantle. However, for some rocks, the lack of zircon seriously hinders the restriction of formation and evolution. The development of Hf isotopic determination methods for oxide-type U-bearing accessory minerals, such as rutile, cassiterite and columbite is urgently needed.OBJECTIVES: In order to accelerate the studies of in situ Hf isotopic determination of oxide-type U-bearing minerals and their application to the geological research.METHODS: In situ Hf isotopic analysis of oxide-type U-bearing accessory minerals was reviewed with NEPTUNE multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) and a 193nm excimer laser ablation system.RESULTS: Combined with relevant research work in recent years, the development history of Lu-Hf isotope analysis technology for accessory minerals was briefly described, and the latest progress and existing problems in in-situ Hf isotope determination methods for oxide-type uranium-bearing minerals such as rutile, cassiterite and niobite were systematically reviewed. The current technical difficulties such as the correction strategy for isobaric interference, the lack of quality control standard samples, the lower Hf content, and the improvement of analytical sensitivity were discussed in detail.CONCLUSIONS: The low Hf content of oxide-type U-bearing accessory minerals requires a larger spot diameter. The femtosecond laser has the characteristics of fine and uniform grain size of the ablation samples. The combination of femtosecond laser and MC-ICPMS (fs-LA-MC-ICPMS) can reduce the spot diameter and improve the spatial resolution, which is the development direction of in situ Hf isotope analysis of oxide-type U-bearing accessory minerals in the future

    Application of Microbeam Analytical Technology to Study the Occurrence of Cobalt from Copper-Cobalt Deposits

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    BACKGROUND: Microbeam analytical technology can be used to accurately analyze the petrography, morphology, structure, component and isotopic composition of ore minerals on the micro-nano scale, which plays a vital role in supporting the detailed research of geoscience.OBJECTIVES: To provide a practical technology for visually and quickly identifying the cobalt-bearing minerals and to understand the occurrence of cobalt in the Chambishi copper-cobalt deposit.METHODS: Microscopy was combined with microbeam analytical technologies of micro-XRF, EPMA, LA-ICP-MS to develop a method for quickly identifying the cobalt-bearing minerals from copper-cobalt deposits. First, representative thin sections were selected by polarized light microscopy, micro-XRF map scanning was then used to obtain the distribution characteristics of cobalt and combined elements in the thin sections. The polarized light microscopy was used again to identify independent cobalt minerals and cobalt-bearing minerals based on the characteristics of element distribution. Finally, the representative minerals were circled and the main and trace elements were determined by EPMA and LA-ICP-MS.RESULTS: The results showed that in the Chambishi Southeast orebody the cobalt not only existed in the form of independent minerals (pentlandite, linnaeite, carrollite), but also occurred in pyrite and pyrrhotite in the form of isomorphism, while the cobalt in the Chambishi West orebody mainly existed in the form of independent mineral-carrollite with a small amount.CONCLUSIONS: The combined microbeam analysis method is proposed to quickly and easily identify cobalt-bearing minerals and to study the occurrence of cobalt in the Chambishi Southeast orebody and Chambishi West orebody. It can effectively save the time of identifying minerals by traditional polarized light microscopy and avoid missing identification of some independent cobalt minerals or cobalt-bearing minerals with small particle size or without obvious optical characteristics

    Atomistic insights into sluggish crystal growth in CoNi-containing multi-principal element alloys

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    Understanding the sluggish kinetics is of great significance for improving the properties of multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs). In this paper, the crystal growth in undercooled CoNi, CoNiFe and CoNiPd alloys was studied by molecular dynamics (MD) to show atomistic insights into sluggish crystal growth kinetics. The added Fe and Pd lead to a decrease in the crystal growth velocity and more significant sluggish crystal growth kinetics was observed in CoNiPd. After minimizing the instantaneous potential energy of atoms adjacent to the Solid/Liquid (S/L) interface, it was found that the decreased crystal growth velocity as the number of principal elements could be accounted by the accompanying change of inherent structure. The exploration of bulk undercooled liquid showed that the diffusion kinetic in liquid does not play a critical role on the sluggish crystal growth kinetics. Besides, the investigation of atomic structure in front of the smooth S/L interface revealed that the sluggish crystal growth kinetics induced by properties of element was associated with the atomic spontaneous ordering degree

    Effects of Stocking Density on Fatty Acid Metabolism by Skeletal Muscle in Mice

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    Specific pathogen-free (SPF) grade laboratory animals are kept in specific cages for life. The limited space could affect the characterization of colonization and dynamic changes related to gut microorganisms, and affect adipokines, even further affecting the fat synthesis and muscle quality of animals. The objective of this study was to analyze the stocking density on the dynamic distribution of gut microbiota, fat synthesis and muscle quality of SPF grade Kunming mice. Three housing densities were accomplished by raising different mice per cage with the same floor size. Kunming mice were reared at low stocking density (LSD, three mice a group), medium stocking density (MSD, 5 mice a group), and high stocking density (HSD, 10 mice a group) for 12 weeks. The results demonstrated that the stocking density affected intestinal microbial flora composition. We found that compared with the MSD group, the abundance of Lactobacillus in the LSD group and the HSD group decreased, but the abundance of unclassified_Porphyromonadaceae increased. Moreover, fat synthesis and muscle quality were linked to the intestinal microbial flora and stocking density. Compared with the LSD group and the HSD group, the MSD group had a more balanced gut flora, higher fat synthesis and higher muscle quality. Overall, this study demonstrated that stocking density could affect gut microbiota composition, and reasonable stocking density could improve fat synthesis and muscle quality. Our study will provide theoretical support for the suitable stocking density of laboratory animals

    High Genetic Diversity of HIV-1 and Active Transmission Clusters among Male-to-Male Sexual Contacts (MMSCs) in Zhuhai, China

    No full text
    Monitoring genetic diversity and recent HIV infections (RHIs) is critical for understanding HIV epidemiology. Here, we report HIV-1 genetic diversity and RHIs in blood samples from 190 HIV-positive MMSCs in Zhuhai, China. MMSCs with newly reported HIV were enrolled from January 2020 to June 2022. A nested PCR was performed to amplify the HIV polymerase gene fragments at HXB2 positions 2604–3606. We constructed genetic transmission network at both 0.5% and 1.5% distance thresholds using the Tamura-Nei93 model. RHIs were identified using a recent infection testing algorithm (RITA) combining limiting antigen avidity enzyme immunoassay (LAg-EIA) assay with clinical data. The results revealed that 19.5% (37/190) were RHIs and 48.4% (92/190) were CRF07_BC. Two clusters were identified at a 0.5% distance threshold. Among them, one was infected with CRF07_BC for the long term, and the other was infected with CRF55_01B recently. We identified a total of 15 clusters at a 1.5% distance threshold. Among them, nine were infected with CRF07_BC subtype, and RHIs were found in 38.8% (19/49) distributed in eight genetic clusters. We identified a large active transmission cluster (n = 10) infected with a genetic variant, CRF79_0107. The multivariable logistic regression model showed that clusters were more likely to be RHIs (adjusted OR: 3.64, 95% CI: 1.51~9.01). The RHI algorithm can help to identify recent or ongoing transmission clusters where the prevention tools are mostly needed. Prompt public health measures are needed to contain the further spread of active transmission clusters
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