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Background and Objectives: As the Chinese economy has developed, dietary patterns have modernized, thereby increasing the incidence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). Many observational studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet based on olive oil is associated with a decreased incidence of CVD. This article aims to study the possible effects of dietary models by using three edible oils: olive oil, camellia seed oil (CSO), and soybean oil. CSO has a fatty acid composition similar to that olive oil and is unique in China, and soybean oil is a dietary oil used in traditional Chinese cooking. Methods and Study Design: This intervention is designed based on a three-arm double-blind randomized controlled feeding trial. Three dietary models are established according to traditional Chinese cooking methods, each using one of the three plant edible oils mentioned above as a leading factor. Participants will be randomly assigned to each group and provided with a designated diet for 3 months. Results: The study population is planned to be women with a high risk of CVD and aged between 35 and 69 years. Weight and other CVD-related factors are treated as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Conclusions: This trial may inform dietary nutrition policies to a certain extent, especially concerning traditional Chinese cooking methods, for weight control and the improvement of cardiovascular-related risk factors in women with a high risk of CVD.

Royal jelly (RJ) from honeybee has been widely used as a health promotion supplement. The major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) have been identified as the functional component of RJ. However, the question of whether MRJPs have anti-senescence activity for human cells remains. Human embryonic lung fibroblast (HFL-I) cells were cultured in media containing no MRJPs (A), MRJPs at 0.1 mg/ml (B), 0.2 mg/ml (C), or 0.3 mg/ml (D), or bovine serum albumin (BSA) at 0.2 mg/ml (E). The mean population doubling levels of cells in media B, C, D, and E were increased by 12.4%, 31.2%, 24.0%, and 10.4%, respectively, compared with that in medium A. The cells in medium C also exhibited the highest relative proliferation activity, the lowest senescence, and the longest telomeres. Moreover, MRJPs up-regulated the expression of superoxide dismutase-1 ( SOD1 ) and down-regulated the expression of mammalian target of rapamycin ( MTOR ), catenin beta like-1 ( CTNNB1 ), and tumor protein p53 ( TP53 ). Raman spectra analysis showed that there were two unique bands related to DNA synthesis materials, amide carbonyl group vibrations and aromatic hydrogens. These results suggest that MRJPs possess anti-senescence activity for the HFL-I cell line, and provide new knowledge illustrating the molecular mechanism of MRJPs as anti-senescence factors.

Royal jelly (RJ) is a well-known bioactive substance. It contains large amounts of major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), which express growth-factor-like activity in several animal and human cell lines. However, the question on whether MRJPs possess growth-factor-like activity on all types of cell cultures remains. In order to determine whether MRJPs can be used as an alternative to fetal bovine serum (FBS) in different types of human cell culture, the proliferation of the complex serum with different ratios of MRJPs/FBS (M/F) was evaluated on five cell lines: 293T, HFL-I, 231, HCT116, and Changliver using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) assay. The proliferation activity of the combination of the complex M/F serum with cytokines on the test cell lines was also measured. The results demonstrated that the complex serum with M/F 6/4 possessed the highest proliferation activity similar to or in excess of FBS. However, no activity of complex medium with M/F 6/4 was observed in 231 cells, indicating a selectivity of MRJPs on cell types. Compared with the complex medium with M/F 6/4, the complex medium with M/F 6/4 together with two cytokines, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin-transferrin-selenium (ITS), promoted proliferations of Changliver, 293T, HCT116, and HFL-I by 18.73%‒56.19% ( P <0.01). Our findings demonstrate that MRJPs could partially replace FBS in culturing many human cell lines.

Turmeric residue (TR), containing residual levels of curcumin, is a solid by-product waste generated after the extraction and separation of curcumin from turmeric root. A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of TR on the survival of Chinese soft-shelled turtles (SSTs), Pelodiscus sinensis , under a high ambient temperature. A total of 320 female SSTs were assigned randomly to two diets: basal diet (the control group, n =160) and an interventional diet supplemented with 10% TR (the TR group, n =160). Our results demonstrated that supplementation of TR increased the SST survival rate by 135.5%, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of SST liver by 112.8%, and decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) content of SST liver by 36.4%, compared to the control group. The skin of the SST fed TR showed a golden color. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis indicated that the concentrations of curcumin in TR and the skin of the SST fed TR were (1.69±0.30) and (0.14±0.03) μg/g, respectively. Our observation suggests that supplementation of TR increased the survival rate of SST under high ambient temperatures. We speculated that the increased survival rate and tolerance at the high ambient temperature were associated with the anti-oxidation activity of curcumin from TR. Moreover, curcumin in TR could be deposited in SST skin, which made it more favored in the market of China. Our findings provide new knowledge and evidence to effectively reuse TR as a feed additive in animal and aquatic farming.

Background Capillary leak syndrome (CLS) is a rare condition characterized by recurrent episodes of generalized edema and severe hypotension associated with hypoproteinemia. Interleukin-11 (IL-11) is a promising therapeutic agent for thrombocytopenia. A direct correlation between IL-11 and CLS has never been reported previously, particularly in patients with hepatic carcinoma. Case presentation We describe two cases of CLS after IL-11 administration in two males with thrombocytopenia. Case 1 was a 46-year-old man with recurrence of hepatic carcinoma who was treated with IL-11 (3 mg per day). After four days of therapy, hypotension and hypoproteinemia were detected. The chest X-ray and B ultrasound of the abdomen showed pleural effusion and ascites. IL-11 was then discontinued, fluid resuscitation was performed, and fresh frozen plasma and packed red blood cells were transfused into this patient. The patient had recovered after 19 days of treatment. Case 2 was a 66-year-old man who had undergone radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatic carcinoma. He was treated with IL-11 (3 mg per day) for thrombocytopenia. After two days of therapy, this patient complained of dyspnea with bilateral edema of the hands. Laboratory values showed hypoproteinemia. IL-11 was stopped and human albumin was transfused at a rate of 10 g per day. On the 4 th day, fluid resuscitation was performed. The patient had recovered after treatment for two weeks. Conclusions The detection of IL-11-induced CLS supports the hypothesis that CLS could be a severe side effect of IL-11 treatment in some patients. These two case reports also demonstrate that patients with hepatic carcinoma who experience this rare form of CLS after treatment with IL-11 seem to respond to a therapeutic regimen that involves hydroxyethyl starch, albumin, and diuretic therapy. Liver cancer patients might be more susceptible to CLS because of poor liver function and hypersplenia. In addition, bleeding after RFA might be a further inducer of CLS.

Bee venom phospholipase A2（BvPLA2） is a lipolytic enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the sn-2 acyl bond of glycerophospholipids to liberate free fatty acids and lysophospholipids.In this work,a new BvPLA2（AccPLA2） gene from the Chinese honeybee（Apis cerana cerana） venom glands was inserted into bacmid to construct a recombinant transfer vector.Tn-5B-4（Tn） cells were transfected with the recombinant bacmid DNA for expression.Sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis（SDS-PAGE） analysis revealed a double band with molecular weights of 16 and 18 kDa.Products of hexahistidine AccPLA2 fusion protein accumulated up to 5.32% of the total cellular proteins.The AccPLA2 fusion protein was cross reactive with the anti-AmPLA2（BvPLA2 of the European honeybee,Apis mellifera） polyclonal serum.The reaction resulted in a double glycosylation band,which agrees with the band generated by the native AmPLA2 in Western blot analysis.The PLA2 activity of the total extracted cellular protein in the hydrolyzing egg yolk is about 3.16 μmol/（min·mg）.In summary,the recombinant AccPLA2 protein,a native BvPLA2-like structure with corresponding biological activities,can be glycosylated in Tn cells.These findings provided fundamental knowledge for potential genetic engineering to produce AccPLA2 in the pharmaceutical industry.

Major royal jelly protein 1 (MRJP1), designated apalbumin 1, has been regarded as a freshness marker of royal jelly (RJ). A MRJP1-specific peptide (IKEALPHVPIFD) identified by bioinformatics analysis of homologous members of the major royal protein family was synthesized and used to raise polyclonal anti-MRJP1 antibody (anti-SP-MRJP1 antibody). Western blot analysis showed that anti-SP-MRJP1 antibody only reacted with MRJP1 in RJ. In contrast, the previously reported antibody against recombinant MRJP1 (anti-R-MRJP1 antibody) reacted with other members of MRJP family in RJ. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using anti-SP-MRJP1 antibody demonstrated that MRJP1 content in RJ stored at 40 °C significantly degraded by 37.3%, 55.9%, 58.0%, 60.6%, 65.7%, 72.7%, and 73.1% at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49 d, respectively, when compared with MRJP1 content in fresh RJ (0 d). Optical density analysis of MRJP bands from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) profiles demonstrated that the degradation of MRJP1, MRJP2, MRJP3, and MRJP5 in RJ was strongly and positively correlated with the period of storage ( P <0.0001). Our results indicated anti-SP-MRJP1 antibody was highly specific for MRJP1, and ELISA using the antibody is a sensitive and easy-to-use method to determine the freshness and authenticity of RJ.

The aim of this study was to determine the content and/or composition of protein, peptide, amino acid, lipid and fatty acid in bacterial douchi (BD) made by different pure starter fermentation. Protein content of BD3, BD5, BD7 and BD8 was significantly higher than that of autoclaved soybean (AS). Lipid content of BD1, BD5 and BD6 was also significantly higher than that of AS. Predominant amino acids were glutamic acid (11.3-15.2%), proline (11.2-14.5%), aspartic acid (8.7-10.0%), leucine (9.2-10.0%) and alanine (7.4-8.9%). BD had EAA7 and EAA9 values of 34.4-36.4% and 40.5-41.7% respectively. Threonine with the amino acid score of 61-85 was the limiting amino acid. Triacylglycerol (82.4-88.2%) was the most abundant lipid in BD, followed by phospholipid (9.6-16.4%) and phytosterol (1.2-2.9%). Major fatty acids were palmitic (10.6-11.3%), oleic (20.5-21.9%), linoleic (54.2-55.6%) and alpha-linolenic acid (8.2-9.1%). The ratio of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to n-3 PUFA ranged from 6.1 to 6.7. Amino acid nitrogen and trichloroacetic acid soluble protein increased from 0.2% (AS) to 1.8% (BD8) and from 1.3% (AS) to 4.0% (BD7) at the highest level respectively. Peptides with molecular weight < or = 2000Da accounted for at least 75% of total peptide. Bacterial fermentation of soybean increased amino acid nitrogen and trichloroacetic acid soluble protein except BBDC6, decreased molecular weight of 100-500 and increased 500-1000 and 2000-5000 peptides. Composition of lipids, fatty acids, and amino acids were no significant change after soybean bacterial fermentation.

● Disease-suppressive soils exhibit enhanced soil nutrient status. ● Soil available phosphorus is a distinct feature of disease-suppressive soil. ● Rhizosphere hosts heightened microbial function for disease suppression. ● The soil microbial role in disease suppression is linked to nutrient cycling. The role of soil nutrient status in disease suppression is of increasing interest for the control of soil-borne diseases. Here, we explored the soil chemical properties, composition, and functional traits of soil microbiomes in pair-located orchards that appeared suppressive or conducive to the occurrence of banana Fusarium wilt using mainly amplicon sequencing and metagenomic approaches. The enhancement of soil available phosphorus, succeeded by increments in soil nitrogen and carbon, played a pivotal role in the suppression of the disease. Additionally, in therhizosphere of suppressive sites, there was an observed increase in the disease-suppressing function of the soil microbiome, which was found to be correlated with specific nutrient-related functions. Notably, this enhancement involved the presence of key microbes such as Blastocatella and Bacillus. Our results highlight the significant roles of soil nutrient status and soil microbiome in supporting the soil-related disease suppressiveness.