Bilateral Fronto-Parietal Integrity in Young Chronic Cigarette Smokers: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in China and other countries. Previous studies have demonstrated gray matter loss in chronic smokers. However, only a few studies assessed the changes of white matter integrity in this group. Based on those previous reports of alterations in white matter integrity in smokers, the aim of this study was to examine the alteration of white matter integrity in a large, well-matched sample of chronic smokers and non-smokers.Using in vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to measure the differences of whole-brain white matter integrity between 44 chronic smoking subjects (mean age, 28.0±5.6 years) and 44 healthy age- and sex-matched comparison non-smoking volunteers (mean age, 26.3±5.8 years). DTI was performed on a 3-Tesla Siemens scanner (Allegra; Siemens Medical System). The data revealed that smokers had higher fractional anisotropy (FA) than healthy non-smokers in almost symmetrically bilateral fronto-parietal tracts consisting of a major white matter pathway, the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF).We found the almost symmetrically bilateral fronto-parietal whiter matter changes in a relatively large sample of chronic smokers. These findings support the hypothesis that chronic cigarette smoking involves alterations of bilateral fronto-parietal connectivity

Aroma Quality Evaluation of High-Quality and Quality-Deficient Black Tea by Electronic Nose Coupled with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

According to the results of sensory evaluation performed by experts, 14 black tea samples were divided into two groups based on their aroma quality: high-quality and quality-deficient black tea. Using fast gas chromatography-electronic-nose (GC-E-Nose) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with multivariate statistical analysis, discriminant analysis of the two groups were carried out, and the key differential components between these groups were selected. The results showed that 117-dimensional dataset was obtained by the fusion of the GC-E-Nose (44-dimensional) and GC-MS (73-dimensional) data and used to establish a model for accurate classification of the two types of black tea employing orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The model’s explanatory and predictive capacity (R2Y = 0.976, Q2 = 0.959) were better than those of the model established based on the GC-E-Nose or GC-MS data. Based on variable important in projection (VIP) scores > 1.6 and P < 0.05, eight key aroma components including dimethyl sulfide (B3 and B25), β-ionone (A59), (3E)-4,8-dimethylnon-1,3,7-triene (A20), dihydroactinidiolide (A64), linalool (A17), phenylethyl alcohol (A19), δ-octyl lactone (A41) and γ-nonalatone (A45) were selected, which played an important role in the classification. These results showed that GC-E-Nose combined with GC-MS allows rapid and accurate discrimination between quality-deficient and high-quality black tea, which can be used as a supplement to traditional sensory evaluation, providing technical support for quality control and improvement of black tea

Template Synthesis of Carbon Nanofibers Containing Linear Mesocage Arrays

Carbon nanofibers containing linear mesocage arrays were prepared via evaporation induced self-assembly method within AAO template with an average channel diameter of about 25 nm. The TEM results show that the mesocages have an elongated shape in the transversal direction. The results of N2 adsorption–desorption analysis indicate that the sample possesses a cage-like mesoporous structure and the average mesopore size of the sample is about 18 nm

Effects of novel flash glucose monitoring system on glycaemic control in adult patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus: protocol of a multicentre randomised controlled trial

Introduction Optimal glycaemic control is beneficial to prevent and delay microvascular complications in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The benefits of flash glucose monitoring (FGM) have been proved among well-controlled adults with T1DM, but evidence for FGM in adults with T1DM who have suboptimal glycaemic control is limited. This study aims to evaluate the effect of FGM in suboptimally controlled adult patients with T1DM .Methods and analysis This open-label, multicentre, randomised trial will be conducted at eight tertiary hospitals and recruit 104 adult participants (≥18 years old) with T1DM diagnosed for at least 1 year and with suboptimal glycaemic control (glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) ranging from 7.0% to 10.0%). After a run-in period (baseline, 0–2 weeks), eligible participants will be randomised 1:1 to either use FGM or self-monitoring of blood glucose alone consequently for the next 24 weeks. At baseline, 12–14 weeks and 24–26 weeks, retrospective continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems will be used in both groups for device-related data collection. Biological metrics, including HbA1c, blood routine, lipid profiles, liver enzymes, questionnaires and adverse events, will be assessed at baseline, week 14 and week 26. All analyses will be conducted on the intent-to-treat population. Efficacy endpoint analyses will also be repeated on the per-protocol population. The primary outcome is the change of HbA1c from baseline to week 26. The secondary outcomes are the changes of CGM metrics, including time spent in range, time spent in target, time spent below range, time spent above range, SD, coefficient of variation, mean amplitude of glucose excursions, high or low blood glucose index, mean of daily differences, percentage of HbA1c in target (&lt;7%), frequency of FGM use, total daily insulin dose and the scores of questionnaires including Diabetes Distress Scale, Hypoglycemia Fear Scale and European Quality of Life Scale.Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in January 2017. Ethical approval has been obtained at all centres. All participants will be provided with oral and written information about the trial. The study will be disseminated by peer-review publications and conference presentations.Trial registration number NCT03522870

Uncovering the Dynamic Alterations of Volatile Components in Sweet and Floral Aroma Black Tea during Processing

Aroma is an indispensable factor that substantially impacts the quality assessment of black tea. This study aims to uncover the dynamic alterations in the sweet and floral aroma black tea (SFABT) throughout various manufacturing stages using a comprehensive analytical approach integrating gas chromatography electronic nose, gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Notable alterations in volatile components were discerned during processing, predominantly during the rolling stage. A total of 59 typical volatile compounds were identified through GC-IMS, whereas 106 volatile components were recognized via GC-MS throughout the entire manufacturing process. Among them, 14 volatile compounds, such as linalool, β-ionone, dimethyl sulfide, and 1-octen-3-ol, stood out as characteristic components responsible for SFABT with relative odor activity values exceeding one. This study serves as an invaluable theoretical platform for strategic controllable processing of superior-quality black tea

Rutin, γ-Aminobutyric Acid, Gallic Acid, and Caffeine Negatively Affect the Sweet-Mellow Taste of Congou Black Tea Infusions

The sweet-mellow taste sensation is a unique and typical feature of premium congou black tea infusions. To explore the key taste-active compounds that influence the sweet-mellow taste, a sensory and molecular characterization was performed on thirty-three congou black tea infusions presenting different taste qualities, including the sweet-mellow, mellow-pure, or less-mellow taste. An integrated application of quantitative analysis of 48 taste-active compounds, taste contribution analysis, and further validation by taste supplementation experiments, combined with human sensory evaluation revealed that caffeine, &gamma;-aminobutyric acid, rutin, succinic acid, citric acid, and gallic acid negatively affect the sweet-mellow taste, whereas glucose, sucrose, and ornithine positively contribute to the sweet-mellow taste of congou black tea infusions. Particularly, rutin, &gamma;-aminobutyric acid, gallic acid, and caffeine, which impart the major inhibitory effect to the manifestation of the sweet-mellow taste, were identified as the key influencing components through stepwise screening and validation experiments. A modest level of these compounds was found to be favorable for the development and manifestation of the sweet-mellow taste. These compounds might potentially serve as the regulatory targets for oriented-manufacturing of high-quality sweet-mellow congou black tea

Rapid volatiles fingerprinting by dopant-assisted positive photoionization ion mobility spectrometry for discrimination and characterization of Green Tea aromas

Aroma is one major concern of tea flavor and represents an essential criterion for quality evaluation. Herein, we presented a novel approach for rapid, non-destructive and real-time fingerprinting of green tea aromas using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) without prior sample treatment. Positive photoionization with acetone as dopant was selected as suitable source for tea volatiles analysis in comparison to other sources. To demonstrate the effectiveness of presented method, chestnut-like aroma, an indicator of high-quality green teas, was distinguished from others using IMS fingerprinting. In particular, three sub-types with subtle difference in sensory evaluation, i.e., tender, pure and roasted chestnut-like aroma, were classified by IMS fingerprinting in combination with chemometrics with an overall predictive accuracy of 95.6%. Furthermore, we demonstrated a strategy of two-dimensional IMS profiling for capturing the "dynamics" of tea volatiles. To our knowledge this is the first report of tea aroma analysis using IMS-based tool, which may serve as a complement to the conventional tea sensory evaluation and is promising for process monitoring during tea manufacture

Comprehensive Lipidome-Wide Profiling Reveals Dynamic Changes of Tea Lipids during Manufacturing Process of Black Tea

As important biomolecules in <i>Camellia sinensis</i> L., lipids undergo substantial changes during black tea manufacture, which is considered to contribute to tea sensory quality. However, limited by analytical capacity, detailed lipid composition and its dynamic changes during black tea manufacture remain unclear. Herein, we performed tea lipidome profiling using high resolution liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS), which allows simultaneous and robust analysis of 192 individual lipid species in black tea, covering 17 (sub)­classes. Furthermore, dynamic changes of tea lipids during black tea manufacture were investigated. Significant alterations of lipid pattern were revealed, involved with chlorophyll degradation, metabolic pathways of glycoglycerolipids, and other extraplastidial membrane lipids. To our knowledge, this report presented most comprehensive coverage of lipid species in black tea. This study provides a global and in-depth metabolic map of tea lipidome during black tea manufacture

Clusters of increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in smokers compared to healthy non-smokers.

<p>Significant FA alterations as revealed by voxel-based whole brain analysis with SPM5 displayed on the FA average map of the sample. Voxels of increased FA in smokers revealed by SPM5 analysis are displayed with red colour. All clusters shown exceed an uncorrected statistical threshold of P<0.001 and a cluster size threshold of 100 consecutive voxels.</p