Research Progress in Preparation and Application in Intelligent and Active Packaging of Carbon Dots from Food Processing By-products

As an emerging nanoparticle, carbon dots (CDs) have been widely used in the fields of chemical sensing, biological imaging, drug delivery, photocatalyst and food detection due to its superior biocompatibility and photoluminescence. Food processing by-products come from a wide range of sources and are easy to obtain. Moreover, the surface of CDs prepared from food processing by-products is usually rich in functional groups and miscellaneous elements, imparting excellent photocatalytic, antioxidant and antibacterial properties to CDs. In recent years, CDs have been used as food packaging additives to enhance the ultraviolet (UV) shielding, mechanical, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of food packaging. In this paper, the types of food processing by-products that can be used to prepare CDs and natural polymer-based films added with CDs and the application of CDs in active and intelligent packaging are reviewed in order to provide guidance for the preparation of CDs from food processing by-products and its application in food packaging

Treatment with PPAR Agonist Clofibrate Inhibits the Transcription and Activation of SREBPs and Reduces Triglyceride and Cholesterol Levels in Liver of Broiler Chickens

PPAR agonist clofibrate reduces cholesterol and fatty acid concentrations in rodent liver by an inhibition of SREBP-dependent gene expression. In present study we investigated the regulation mechanisms of the triglyceride-and cholesterol-lowering effect of the PPAR agonist clofibrate in broiler chickens. We observed that PPAR agonist clofibrate decreases the mRNA and protein levels of LXR and the mRNA and both precursor and nuclear protein levels of SREBP1 and SREBP2 as well as the mRNA levels of the SREBP1 (FASN and GPAM) and SREBP2 (HMGCR and LDLR) target genes in the liver of treated broiler chickens compared to control group, whereas the mRNA level of INSIG2, which inhibits SREBP activation, was increased in the liver of treated broiler chickens compared to control group. Taken together, the effects of PPAR agonist clofibrate on lipid metabolism in liver of broiler chickens involve inhibiting transcription and activation of SREBPs and SREBP-dependent lipogenic and cholesterologenic gene expression, thereby resulting in a reduction of the triglyceride and cholesterol levels in liver of broiler chickens

The Double Burdens of Mental Health Among AIDS Patients With Fully Successful Immune Restoration: A Cross-Sectional Study of Anxiety and Depression in China

Background: Anxiety and depression continue to be significant comorbidities for people with HIV infection. We investigated the prevalence of and factors associated with anxiety and depression among adult HIV-infected patients across China.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we described clinical and psychosocial variables related to depression and anxiety in 4103 HIV-infected persons. Doctors assessed anxiety and depression by asking patients whether they had experienced anxiety or depression in the prior month. Patients also self-administered the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale; those with score ≥8 on HAD-A/D were considered to be at high risk of anxiety or depression.Results: Associations between socio-demographic, psychosocial, and ART-related clinical factors and risk of depression or anxiety were investigated using multivariable logistic regression. Among patients assessed between 9/2014 and 11/2015, 27.4% had symptoms of anxiety, 32.9% had symptoms of depression, and 19.0% had both. Recentness of HIV diagnoses (P = 0.046) was associated with elevated odds of anxiety. Older age (P = 0.004), higher educational attainment (P < 0.001), employment (P = 0.001), support from family / friends (P < 0.001), and sleep disturbance (P < 0.001), and number of ART regimen switches (P = 0.046) were associated with risk of depression, while neither sex nor transmission route showed any associations. There were no significant associations with HIV-specific clinical factors including current CD4+ T cell count and current viral load.Conclusions: Prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression is high in this cohort of treatment-experienced HIV patients. Psychological and social-demographic factors, rather than HIV disease status, were associated with risk of depression and anxiety. This finding highlights the need to deliver interventions to address the mental health issues affecting HIV-infected persons with fully successful immune restoration across China

Corrigendum to: The TianQin project: current progress on science and technology

In the originally published version, this manuscript included an error related to indicating the corresponding author within the author list. This has now been corrected online to reflect the fact that author Jun Luo is the corresponding author of the article

Therapeutic Effect of Xingnaotongdu Acupuncture Combined with Huoxuetongluo Decoction on Patients with Post-Stroke Cognitive Dysfunction

To investigate the efficacy of Xingnao Tongdu Acupuncture Combined with Huoxue Tongluo Decoction in the treatment of post-stroke cognitive dysfunction. Eighty-eight patients with post-stroke cognitive dysfunction were enrolled in our hospital from July 2016 to July 2018. The patients were randomly assigned to a total of 44 patients. The control group was treated with conventional western medicine. The experimental group was treated with Xingnao Tongdu Acupuncture Method + Huoxue Tongluo Decoction on the basis of the control group for 1 month. Statistical comparison was performed between the two groups before and after treatment (NCSE), serum heat shock protein (HSP70), cortisol (Cor), and daily living ability (ADL). Compared with the control group, the NCSE scores of the experimental group were higher after treatment (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the serum HSP70 level was higher and the Cor level was lower (P<0.05). The ADL score of the experimental group was higher after treatment (P<0.05). Xingnao Tongdu Acupuncture Combined with Huoxue Tongluo Decoction in the treatment of post-stroke cognitive dysfunction can regulate serum Cor and HSP70 levels, improve cognitive function and improve daily living ability