Possible interpretation of the ZbZ_b(10610) and ZbZ_b(10650) in a chiral quark model

Motivated by the two charged bottomonium-like resonances $Z_b$(10610) and $Z_b$(10650) newly observed by the Belle collaboration, the possible molecular states composed of a pair of heavy mesons, $B\bar{B}, B\bar{B}^*, B^*\bar{B}^*, B_s\bar{B}$, etc (in S-wave), are investigated in the framework of chiral quark models by the Gaussian expansion method. The bound states $B\bar{B}^*$ and $B^*\bar{B}^*$ with quantum numbers $I(J^{PC})=1(1^{+-})$, which are good candidates for the $Z_b(10610)$ and $Z_b(10650)$ respectively, are obtained. Other three bound states $B\bar{B}^*$ with $I(J^{PC})=0(1^{++})$, $B^*\bar{B}^*$ with $I(J^{PC})=1(0^{++}), 0(2^{++})$ are predicted. These states may be observed in open-bottom or hidden-bottom decay channel of highly excited $\Upsilon$. When extending directly the quark model to the hidden color channel of the multi-quark system, more deeply bound states are found. Future experimental search of those states will cast doubt on the validity of applying the chiral constituent quark model to the hidden color channel directly.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure, title and some arguments in the abstract and section 5 are revised, results unchange

Preclinical and clinical evidence for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with soybean: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a prevalent public health issue, involves the accumulation of triglycerides in hepatocytes, which is generally considered to be an early lesion of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Thus, the development of treatments for NAFLD is urgently needed. This study explored the preclinical and clinical evidence of soybeans to alleviate NAFLD. Studies indexed in three relevant databases—Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase—between January 2002 and August 2022 were retrieved. A total of 13 preclinical studies and five RCTs that included 212 animals and 260 patients were included in the present analysis. The preclinical analysis showed that liver function indices (AST, SMD = −1.41, p < 0.0001 and ALT, SMD = −1.47, p < 0.0001) were significantly improved in the soybean group compared to the model group, and fatty liver indicators (TG, SMD = −0.78, p < 0.0001; TC, SMD = −1.38, p < 0.0001) and that oxidative stress indices (MDA, SMD = −1.09, p < 0.0001; SOD, SMD = 1.74, p = 0.022) were improved in the soybean group. However, the five RCTs were not entirely consistent with the preclinical results; however, the results confirmed the protective effect on the liver. The results of the clinical RCTs showed that soybean significantly affected liver function, fatty liver, and oxidative stress indicators (ALT, SMD = −0.42, p = 0.006; TG, SMD = −0.31, p = 0.039; MDA, SMD = −0.76, p = 0.007). The current meta-analysis combined preclinical and clinical studies and verified that soybean could protect the liver in NAFLD by regulating lipid metabolism and oxidative stress factors via the Akt/AMPK/PPARα signaling pathway. Soybean might be a promising therapeutic agent for treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.Systematic Review Registration: (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#myprospero), identifier (CRD42022335822)

Decays of Zb(+) and Zb'(+) as hadronic molecules

The two newly observed hidden-bottom mesons Zb(10610) and Zb'(10650) with quantum numbers J(P) = 1(+) are considered as hadronic molecules composed of BB(*) and B(*)B(*), respectively. We give predictions for the widths of the strong two-body decays Zb(+) to Upsilon(nS) + pi(+) and Zb'(+) to Upsilon(nS) + pi(+) in a phenomenological Lagrangian approach.Comment: 9 page

Protective role of curcumin in disease progression from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis

Background: Pathological progression from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to liver fibrosis (LF) to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common dynamic state in many patients. Curcumin, a dietary supplement derived from the turmeric family, is expected to specifically inhibit the development of this progression. However, there is a lack of convincing evidence.Methods: The studies published until June 2023 were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases. The SYstematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) approach was used to evaluate the certainty of evidence. StataSE (version 15.1) and Origin 2021 software programs were used to analyze the critical indicators.Results: Fifty-two studies involving 792 animals were included, and three disease models were reported. Curcumin demonstrates a significant improvement in key indicators across the stages of NAFLD, liver fibrosis, and HCC. We conducted a detailed analysis of common inflammatory markers IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, which traverse the entire disease process. The research results reveal that curcumin effectively hinders disease progression at each stage by suppressing inflammation. Curcumin exerted hepatoprotective effects in the dose range from 100 to 400 mg/kg and treatment duration from 4 to 10 weeks. The mechanistic analysis reveals that curcumin primarily exerts its hepatoprotective effects by modulating multiple signaling pathways, including TLR4/NF-κB, Keap1/Nrf2, Bax/Bcl-2/Caspase 3, and TGF-β/Smad3.Conclusion: In summary, curcumin has shown promising therapeutic effects during the overall progression of NAFLD–LF–HCC. It inhibited the pathological progression by synergistic mechanisms related to multiple pathways, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and apoptosis regulation

Type I Kounis syndrome induced by COVID-19 vaccination in China: a case report

Abstract Background Kounis syndrome is a rare clinical condition characterized by the occurrence of an acute coronary event induced by an acute allergic episode. The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has contributed to an increase in the incidence of allergic reactions to a certain extent, thereby increasing the incidence of Kounis syndrome. Timely diagnosis and effective management of this disease are important in clinical practice. Case presentation We report a 43-year-old woman who developed generalized pruritus, breathlessness, paroxysmal precordial crushing pain, and dyspnea after receiving the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. After anti-allergic treatment and therapy for acute myocardial ischemia, her symptoms resolved with improvement in cardiac function and resolution of ST-segment changes. The prognosis was satisfactory, and the final diagnosis was type I Kounis syndrome. Conclusion This patient with type I Kounis syndrome rapidly developed acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after an acute allergic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. ​Timely diagnosis of acute allergic reaction and ACS, and targeted treatment based on the relevant guidelines are the key to successful treatment of the syndrome.

Trends of publications related to climate change and lake research from 1991 to 2015

Climate change has been studied for many decades. Growing scientific, political, and public attention has focused on climate change and its effect on ecosystems, including lake ecosystems. In this study, we conducted comparative quantitative and qualitative analyses that focused on research development, current hotspots, and potential future directions of climate change research associated with lakes using a bibliometric analysis based on the Science Citation Index (SCI) database. A total of 10,196 papers associated with climate change-lake research were published in 1,206 journals. Rapid development occurred over the past 25 years and the number of published papers considerably increased since the 2000s. A keyword analysis showed that among the top 50 most frequently used keywords, paleoecology, palynology, paleolimnology, climate change, and pollen analysis exhibited decreasing trends. Recently, eutrophication exhibited one of the highest co-occurrence frequencies with climate change. Keywords such as algae and cyanobacteria also showed increasing trends with climate change, implied that more attention was paid to the harmful cyanobacterial blooms. Another significant increasing trend was observed between climate change and remote sensing, which is a modern technology that is now widely used in limnology. Our results also indicate that a distinct turning point associated with climate change-lake research occurred between 1991 and 2015. Before the 2000s, most studies focused on paleolimnology. Specifically, researchers were searching for the evidence of climate change in lake sediments by using traditional technologies, such as reflecting ancient climate using the information recorded by diatom or pollen in the sediments. Recently, more studies have focused on modern limnology, e.g., the effects of climate change on lake ecosystems. In addition, future research may focus on the following topics: 1) the interactive effects of climate change and eutrophication, or other environmental variables, on lake ecosystems; 2) solutions for mitigating the negative effects of climate change; and 3) the potential effects of eutrophication on climate change.</p

Integrative evidence construction for resveratrol treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: preclinical and clinical meta-analyses

Background: Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in various plants, is known for its diverse bioactivities and has been explored in relation to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, no high-quality evidence exists regarding its efficacy.Objective: a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the potential efficacy of resveratrol in treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by analyzing both preclinical studies and clinical trials.Method: PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched for the included literature with the criteria for screening. Quantitative synthesis and meta-analyses were performed by STATA 16.0.Results: Twenty-seven studies were included, and the results indicated that resveratrol effectively improved liver function, reduced fatty liver indicators, and affected other indices in preclinical studies. The effective dosage ranged from 50 mg/kg-200 mg/kg, administered over a period of 4–8 weeks. While there were inconsistencies between clinical trials and preclinical research, both study types revealed that resveratrol significantly reduced tumor necrosis factor-α levels, further supporting its protective effect against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Additionally, resveratrol alleviated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease primarily via AMPK/Sirt1 and anti-inflammatory signaling pathways.Conclusion: Current meta-analysis could not consistently verify the efficacy of resveratrol in treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, but demonstrated the liver-protective effects on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The large-sample scale and single region RCTs were further needed to investigate the efficacy

Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Phytoplankton Primary Production in Lake Taihu Derived from MODIS Data

We investigated the long-term variations in primary production in Lake Taihu using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, based on the Vertically Generalized Production Model (VGPM). We firstly test the applicability of VGPM in Lake Taihu by comparing the results between the model-derived and the in situ results, and the results showed that a strong significant correlation (R2 = 0.753, p &lt; 0.001, n = 63). Then, VGPM was used to map temporal-spatial distributions of primary production in Lake Taihu. The annual mean daily primary production of Lake Taihu from 2003 to 2013 was 1094.06 ± 720.74 mg·C·m−2·d−1. Long-term primary production maps estimated from the MODIS data demonstrated marked temporal and spatial variations. Spatially, the primary production in bays, especially in Zhushan Bay and Meiliang Bay, was consistently higher than that in the open area of Lake Taihu, which was caused by chlorophyll-a concentrations resulting from high nutrient concentrations. Temporally, the seasonal variation of primary production from 2003 to 2013 was: summer &gt; autumn &gt; spring &gt; winter, with significantly higher primary production found in summer and autumn than in winter (p &lt; 0.005, t-test), primarily caused by seasonal variations in water temperature. On a monthly scale, the primary production exerts a clear character of bimodality, increasing from January to May, decreasing in June or July, and finally reaching its highest value during August or September. Wind is another important factor that could affect the spatial variations of primary production in the large, eutrophic and shallow Lake Taihu

Pangenome analysis of Shewanella xiamenensis revealed important genetic traits concerning genetic diversity, pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance

Abstract Background Shewanella xiamenensis, widely distributed in natural environments, has long been considered as opportunistic pathogen. Recently, significant changes in the resistance spectrum have been observed in S. xiamenensis, due to acquired antibiotic resistance genes. Therefore, a pan-genome analysis was conducted to illuminate the genomic changes in S. xiamenensis. Results Phylogenetic analysis revealed three major clusters and three singletons, among which close relationship between several strains was discovered, regardless of their host and niches. The “open” genomes with diversity of accessory and strain-specific genomes took advantage towards diversity environments. The purifying selection pressure was the main force on genome evolution, especially in conservative genes. Only 53 gene families were under positive selection pressure. Phenotypic resistance analysis revealed 21 strains were classified as multi-drug resistance (MDR). Ten types of antibiotic resistance genes and two heavy metal resistance operons were discovered in S. xiamenensis. Mobile genetic elements and horizontal gene transfer increased genome diversity and were closely related to MDR strains. S. xiamenensis carried a variety of virulence genes and macromolecular secretion systems, indicating their important roles in pathogenicity and adaptability. Type IV secretion system was discovered in 15 genomes with various sequence structures, indicating it was originated from different donors through horizontal gene transfer. Conclusions This study provided with a detailed insight into the changes in the pan-genome of S. xiamenensis, highlighting its capability to acquire new mobile genetic elements and resistance genes for its adaptation to environment and pathogenicity to human and animals