Sugary beverages intake and risk of chronic kidney disease: the mediating role of metabolic syndrome.

Background: Although several studies linked the sugary beverages to chronic kidney disease (CKD), the role of different types of sugary beverages in the development of CKD remained inconsistent. This study aimed to examine the associations of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), artificially-sweetened beverages (ASBs), and natural juices (NJs) with CKD risk, and assess the extent to which the associations were mediated through metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods: This is a prospective analysis of 191,956 participants from the UK Biobank.

Azonal steatosis correlates with disease severity and poor outcome of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Objectives: In this study we aimed to assess the clinicopathological characteristics and long-term prognosis of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) having distinct steatosis distribution patterns.

Methods: Clinicopathological data of 238 individuals with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD were collected. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-clinical research network (NASH-CRN) and steatosis, activity and fibrosis (SAF)/fatty liver inhibition of progression (FLIP) algorithm were used.

A remarkably diverse and well-organized virus community in a filter-feeding oyster.

Background: Viruses play critical roles in the marine environment because of their interactions with an extremely broad range of potential hosts. Many studies of viruses in seawater have been published, but viruses that inhabit marine animals have been largely neglected. Oysters are keystone species in coastal ecosystems, yet as filter-feeding bivalves with very large roosting numbers and species co-habitation, it is not clear what role they play in marine virus transmission and coastal microbiome regulation.

Characterization of the active fragments of Spodoptera litura Lebocin-1.

Insects can produce various antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) upon immune stimulation. One class of AMPs are characterized by their high proline content in certain fragments. They are generally called proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PrAMPs).

MG132 protects against renal dysfunction by regulating Akt-mediated inflammation in diabetic nephropathy.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN), the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). To date, mounting evidence has shown that inflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of DN. Recent reports have shown that proteasome inhibitors display cytoprotection by reducing the phosphorylation of Akt, a serine/threonine kinase, plays a critical role in cellular survival and metabolism and can crosstalk with inflammation.

Characterization of PGRP-S1 from the oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata.

Peptidoglycan is the key component forming the backbone of bacterial cell wall. It can be recognized by a group of pattern recognition receptors, known as peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) in insects and higher animals. PGRPs may serve as immune receptors or N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidases (EC 3.

Antimicrobial activities of a proline-rich proprotein from Spodoptera litura.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are produced by the stimulated humoral immune system. Most mature AMPs contain less than 50 amino acid residues. Some of them are generated from proproteins upon microbial challenges.

Immune functions of insect βGRPs and their potential application.

Insects rely completely on the innate immune system to sense the foreign bodies and to mount the immune responses. Germ-line encoded pattern recognition receptors play crucial roles in recognizing pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Among them, β-1,3-glucan recognition proteins (βGRPs) and gram-negative bacteria-binding proteins (GNBPs) belong to the same pattern recognition receptor family, which can recognize β-1,3-glucans.

Spexin Enhances Bowel Movement through Activating L-type Voltage-dependent Calcium Channel via Galanin Receptor 2 in Mice.

A novel neuropeptide spexin was found to be broadly expressed in various endocrine and nervous tissues while little is known about its functions. This study investigated the role of spexin in bowel movement and the underlying mechanisms. In functional constipation (FC) patients, serum spexin levels were significantly decreased.

Resectoscopic ablation of the gallbladder mucosa after cholecystostomy.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of endoscopic ablation of the gallbladder mucosa after cholecystostomy.

Materials And Methods: The mucosa of the gallbladder was endoscopically electrocoagulated through the cholecystostomy tract. After ablation, repeated luminal irrigation with chymotrypsin solution was given before removal of the tube.

4-Phenylbutyric acid suppresses inflammation through regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress of endothelial cells stimulated by uremic serum.

Aims: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (AS). Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction and monocyte migration to the subendothelium are considered to be essential manifestations of AS. We conducted this study to determine whether ER stress was involved in uremic serum-induced EC dysfunction and whether the regulation of ER stress using a chemical chaperone 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) had a preventative effect.

Comparison of the anti-amyloidogenic effect of O-mannosylation, O-galactosylation, and O-GalNAc glycosylation.

Our aim was to explore the effects of functional groups at carbon-2 (C2) of a sugar on the conformational properties of the peptide backbone. Three monosaccharides, mannose, galactose, and N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), were added separately to the serine side-chain of a hamster prion peptide because it is a sensitive model for comparing the effect of protein modification on the conformational properties of the polypeptide chain. In buffer, this prion peptide goes through a gradual coil-to-β structural conversion and forms amyloid fibrils slowly during incubation.

Endotoxin molecule lipopolysaccharide-induced zebrafish inflammation model: a novel screening method for anti-inflammatory drugs.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an endotoxin molecule, has been used to induce inflammatory responses. In this study, LPS was used to establish an in vivo inflammation model in zebrafish for drug screening. We present an experimental method that conveniently and rapidly assesses the anti-inflammatory properties of drugs.

[Spatial localized distribution of modes in two-dimension random medium].

Based on the time dependent theory, FDTD algorithm was used to numerically solve Maxwell's equations and rate equations. By dividing the two-dimension random medium, the emission spectra of different region under different pumping intensities were obtained. The calculated results show that the emission spectra of different region are different, the energy of emission is mainly distributed in some certain region, and the pumping efficiency is different.

Observation of protein folding/unfolding dynamics of ubiquitin trapped in agarose gel by single-molecule FRET.

A ubiquitin mutant with two Cys mutations, m[C]q/S65C, was site-specifically labeled with two dye molecules, Alexa Fluor 488 (donor) and Alexa Fluor 594 (acceptor), due to the different reactivity of these two Cys residues. This doubly dye-labeled ubiquitin has lower structural stability than wild-type ubiquitin. Taking advantage of this decreased stability, conformational heterogeneity of this protein under nondenaturing condition was observed at the single-molecule level using single-paired Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) by trapping the protein in agarose gel.

Impairment of perceptual and motor abilities at the end of a night shift is greater in nurses working fast rotating shifts.

Objective: A three-shift work schedule with fast rotation is common among healthcare workers in Taiwan. This study compared cognitive performance at the time of maximum fatigue (3-4am on the last night shift of the rotation) between nurses working two, three, and four consecutive night shifts.

Methods: Sixty-two nurses [mean age 26.

The association between adult asthma and superoxide dismutase and catalase gene activity.

Background: Adult asthma is caused by interaction effects of multiple genetic and environmental factors. Some studies have suggested that antioxidant enzyme activity and gene polymorphisms may play important roles in the context of asthma. Therefore, our study objectives were to investigate the association between asthma, antioxidant activities and the polymorphisms of manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) or catalase (CAT).

[Fluorescence lifetime measurement based on different pump waveform].

The present paper analyzes the different pump wave theory under the fluorescence decay law, and presents a different pump wave measured fluorescence lifetime of the new method-double-pulse detection method, namely the use of pump pulse and probe pulse for the fluorescence decay methods to measure fluorescence lifetime. By measuring the sample neodymium glass and Cr:ZnSe crystal fluorescence lifetime, results showed that: using this method can be achieved under different pump wave in visible and near-infrared to the mid-infrared laser medium of the fluorescence lifetime measurement. Therefore, using the measurement method can be convenient and effective to avoid seeking samples by deconvolution for fluorescence lifetime with the cumbersome process of measuring laser medium at different pump wave under the fluorescence lifetime with a reference value.

[The study on supercontinuum generation of femtosecond pulse propagating in fused silica].

Starting from Nonlinear Schrodinger's equation and using the split-step Fourier method, the authors studied the characters of the supercontinuum generation of femtosecond laser pulse propagating in fused silica, and many physical factors were included such as propagation distance, input pulse peak power, diffraction effect, dispersion effect andnonlinear effect etc. The results show that when the femtosecond pulse propagated inside the fused silica, the process of supercontinuum generation could be divided into two main stages: the pulse compression stage, which was induced by the self-focus and other third nonlinear effects of the fused silica; and the pulse split stage, which was caused by the self-phase modulation and the group velocity dispersion of the fused silica. When the femtosecond pulse propagated inside the fused silica with high input peak power, the 3rd-order nonlinear effect of material induced pulse compression and then the subpulses were produced, so that new frequency components were introduced.