An almond-based low carbohydrate diet improves depression and glycometabolism in patients with Type 2 Diabetes through modulating gut microbiota and GLP-1: A randomized controlled trial

A low carbohydrate diet (LCD) is more beneficial for the glycometabolism in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and may be effective in reducing depression. Almond, which is a common nut, has been shown to effectively improve hyperglycemia and depression symptoms. This study aimed to determine the effect of an almond-based LCD (a-LCD) on depression and glycometabolism, as well as gut microbiota and fasting glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) in patients with T2DM. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial which compared an a-LCD with a low-fat diet (LFD). Forty-five participants with T2DM at a diabetes club and the Endocrine Division of the First and Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between December 2018 to December 2019 completed each dietary intervention for 3 months, including 22 in the a-LCD group and 23 in the LFD group. The indicators for depression and biochemical indicators including glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), gut microbiota, and GLP-1 concentration were assessed at the baseline and third month and compared between the two groups. Results: A-LCD significantly improved depression and HbA1c (p <0.01). Meanwhile, a-LCD significantly increased the short chain fatty acid (SCFAs)-producing bacteria Roseburia, Ruminococcus and Eubacterium. The GLP-1 concentration in the a-LCD group was higher than that in the LFD group (p <0.05). Conclusions: A-LCD could exert a beneficial effect on depression and glycometabolism in patients with T2DM. We speculate that the role of a-LCD in improving depression in patients with T2DM may be associated with it stimulating the growth of SCFAs-producing bacteria, increasing SCFAs production and GPR43 activation, and further maintaining GLP-1 secretion. In future studies, the SCFAs and GPR43 activation should be further examined

An automated approach for cerebral microvascularity labeling in microscopy images

National Natural and Science Foundation of China [30900328]Morphological observation and analysis of cerebral microvascular network is an essential way to study cerebral function. Automated labeling of cerebral microvascular in microscopy images is one of the key steps for quantitative analysis of microvascular network in the specimens of brain mantle. It is presented in this work that an automated image processing approach based on curvilinear structure detector is applied to label and analyze the microvascular in the image. Steerable filter is also introduced to address the detecting confusion in branching regions. And then the vascular morphology analysis, such as average microvascular density, is also performed after image processing. Validation has demonstrated that the results from proposed approach are satisfied. The proposed method is finally applied in the study of cerebral microvascular dysfunction induced by ?-ray irradiation. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2011. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Automated Vessel Tracing for Cerebral Vascularity Study in Microscopy Images

Conference Name:1st International Conference on Environment Science and Biotechnology (ICESB). Conference Address: Male, MALDIVES. Time:NOV 25-27, 2011.Congenital hydrocephalus is a buildup of excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain at birth. The micro-vascular specimens of these brains showed a deranged vascular pattern and poor vascular network in the brain mantle. As the first step of processing and analyzing the vascular network, we proposed a automatic computational approach to label all the vessel in the images. The method, based on advanced curvilinear structure detector, can extract the vessel skeletons and address the branching issue of the vascular network at the same time. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the Asia-Pacific Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering Society (APCBEES

High-sensitivity on-chip temperature sensor based on cascaded microring resonators

This article proposes an on-chip optical temperature sensor based on a cascaded microring resonator, which is composed of a reference ring and a sensing ring cascaded with different temperature sensitivities and free spectral ranges. By changing the temperature of the sensing window environment, the thermal optical effect of the waveguide causes a change in the refractive index of the waveguide, which affects the temperature sensitivity and free spectrum changes of the sensor. The output spectral response of the sensor shifts, achieving temperature sensing detection. The experimental results show that the temperature sensitivity of this microring cascaded temperature sensor is 303.6 pm/°C, which is 3.65 times the limit of a single microring temperature sensitivity of 83 pm/°C. The temperature-sensing range of the sensor is 100°C, which can well meet the temperature-monitoring requirements of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits

Anti-Inflammatory and Antinociceptive Properties of Flavonoids from the Fruits of Black Mulberry (Morus nigra L.).

We analyzed the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of total flavonoids (TF) found in black mulberry fruits. The TF content was 20.9 mg/g (dry weight). Two anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (8.3 mg/g) and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside (2.9 mg/g), were identified in the fruits by UPLC. The TF of black mulberry fruits had significant reducing power and radical (OH(-), O2(·-), DPPH and ABTS) scavenging activities that was demonstrated in a dose-response curve. The TF had inhibitory activities on xylene-induced ear edema and carrageenan-induced paw edema in mice. In addition, TF had antinociceptive activities in the two nociceptive phases of formalin test. We used ELISA to detect the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and NO in the serum of mice. These cytokines were significantly inhibited or scavenged by TF (50 and 100 mg/kg). The results demonstrated that TF of black mulberry possess anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects that might correlate to its antioxidant activities and inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines

Adjustable Positive-Negative Signal in Self-Driven Photodetector based on Cubic CH3NH3PbI3 Large Single Crystal

In this study, for the first time, self-driven photodetector based on cubic CH3NH3PbI3 large single crystal (C-MAPbI3 LSC) with adjustable positive-negative signal is fabricated. The preparation of MAPbI3 large single crystal (MAPbI3 LSC) is realized by the method of growth-drop-growth (GDG). The band gap of MAPbI3 single crystals with Pm-3m (221) space group (6.134×6.134×6.134 Å, 90.00 x 90.00 x 90.00) is 1.58 eV. CH3NH3+ cation is orientation-disorder within the perovskite cubo-octahedral cavity. The photocurrent density at 803 nm of the C-MAPbI3 LSC photodetector under different bias voltages is the highest under different wavelength. The responsivities (R), response time, external quantum efficiencies (EQE) and the detectivity (D) for C-MAPbI3 LSC photodetector at 803 nm wavelength with 1 W m-2, respectively, is 508.7 µA/mW, 0.1338 ms, 79.6% and 8.64*1011 Jones. Notably, the C-MAPbI3 LSC photodetector can be self-driven under 0 V bias voltage, in particular, the positive and negative values of the photocurrent can be adjusted. The proposed mechanism of poling inducing built-in potential is explained adjustable positive-negative signal in self-driven photodetector based on cubic CH3NH3PbI3 large single crystal.</p

Human aldose reductase expression accelerates diabetic atherosclerosis in transgenic mice

Direct evidence that hyperglycemia, rather than concomitant increases in known risk factors, induces atherosclerosis is lacking. Most diabetic mice do not exhibit a higher degree of atherosclerosis unless the development of diabetes is associated with more severe hyperlipidemia. We hypothesized that normal mice were deficient in a gene that accelerated atherosclerosis with diabetes. The gene encoding aldose reductase (AR), an enzyme that mediates the generation of toxic products from glucose, is expressed at low levels in murine compared with human tissues. Mice in which diabetes was induced through streptozotocin (STZ) treatment, but not nondiabetic mice, expressing human AR (hAR) crossed with LDL receptor–deficient (Ldlr–/–) C57BL/6 male mice had increased aortic atherosclerosis. Diabetic hAR-expressing heterozygous LDL receptor–knockout mice (Ldlr+/–) fed a cholesterol/cholic acid–containing diet also had increased aortic lesion size. Lesion area at the aortic root was increased by STZ treatment alone but was further increased by hAR expression. Macrophages from hAR-transgenic mice expressed more scavenger receptors and had greater accumulation of modified lipoproteins than macrophages from nontransgenic mice. Expression of genes that regulate regeneration of glutathione was reduced in the hAR-expressing aortas. Thus, hAR increases atherosclerosis in diabetic mice. Inhibitors of AR or other enzymes that mediate glucose toxicity could be useful in the treatment of diabetic atherosclerosis