Promoting the browning of white fat may be a potential means of combating obesity. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of resveratrol (RES) on the body weight and browning of white ...fat in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and the potential associated mechanism in vivo. Eight-week-old male mice were randomized to receive different treatments: (1), chow without any additional treatment (chow); (2), chow plus 0.4% resveratrol (chow-RES); (3), HFD without any additional treatment (HFD); and (4), HFD plus 0.4% resveratrol (HFD-RES). After 4 weeks of feeding, additional 8-week-old male recipient mice were randomly allocated to the following 4 treatments: (5), HFD and received feces from chow-fed mice; (6), HFD and received feces from chow-RES-fed mice; (7), HFD and received feces from HFD-fed mice; and (8), HFD and received feces from HFD-RES-fed mice. RES treatment significantly inhibited increases in fat accumulation, promoted the browning of white adipose tissue (WAT) and alleviated gut microbiota dysbiosis in HFD-fed mice. Subsequent analyses showed that the gut microbiota remodeling induced by resveratrol had a positive role in WAT browning, and sirtuin-1 (Sirt1) signaling appears to be a key component of this process. Overall, the results show that RES may serve as a potential intervention to reduce obesity by alleviating dysbiosis of the gut microbiota.
Breast milk is the best source of essential nutrients and bioactive components for infants under 6 months. However, little is known about what affects breastfeeding intentions and practices of ...Chinese mothers. With measures of individual, setting, and sociocultural factors, this study examined determinants of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of infancy in China.
Data were obtained from a national cross-sectional survey in China in 2018 that included 5237 infants under 6 months with available measurements of breastfeeding. A 24-h reported food recall method was applied to assess breastfeeding and complementary food intake in the past 24 h. Potential breastfeeding determinants categorized into six aspects were measured: (1) infant health, (2) maternal sociodemographic characteristics, (3) maternal health, (4) breastfeeding support from family, friends, and workplace, (5) social support for breastfeeding, and (6) maternal breastfeeding experiences and knowledge. Reasons for non-commencement or early cessation of breastfeeding were evaluated for non-breastfed infants. For breastfed infants, multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the determinants of exclusive breastfeeding.
About 30 % (29.5%) of infants under 6 months were exclusively breastfed; 2.3% (2.3%) had never been breastfed and 3.2% had ceased breastfeeding. No breast milk (60.7%), maternal illness (13.9%), and infant illness (13.1%) were the top three reasons for non-commencement of breastfeeding. Insufficient breast milk was the reason given for ceasing breastfeeding early by almost two thirds of caregivers who had stopped breastfeeding. The following factors were associated with exclusive breastfeeding: maternal higher education, formal employment with ≥6 months of paid maternity leave, support of the husband and best friends for breastfeeding, a breastfeeding-supportive society, and better breastfeeding knowledge and experiences (a previous successful breastfeeding experience ≥6 months and early initiation of breastfeeding). Maternal age of ≥40 years, caesarean delivery, and infant disease history were associated with non-exclusive breastfeeding.
The exclusive breastfeeding rate is still very low in China. Multidimensional barriers contribute to this situation. A comprehensive intervention framework is needed to increase optimal breastfeeding and achieve substantial public health gains.
Sepsis is the leading cause of death in intensive care units. MicroRNA-34a (miR-34a) is involved in sepsis progression, while its underlying mechanisms on sepsis-induced lung injury remain obscure. ...Oxidative stress, pyroptosis, and inhibition of autophagy can result in organ injury. MiR-34a has been reported to regulate oxidative stress and autophagy via inhibiting silent information regulator T1 (SIRT1) and autophagy gene 4B (ATG4B) signaling. This study aimed at identifying the function of miR-34a in oxidative stress, inflammation, pyroptosis, and autophagy in sepsis-induced lung injury. Male 8-week-old C57BL/6 mice were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture and treated with miR-34a antagomir/agomir. Survival (
= 10), histopathological changes (
= 6), and lung wet-to-dry ratio (
= 6) were recorded and assayed. Other detection (
= 6) was performed to investigate the level of oxidative stress, inflammation, pyroptosis, and autophagy in lung tissues. Results showed that miR-34a down-regulation ameliorated lung injury in septic mice as reflected by decreased lung injury scores (decrease from 3.00 ± 0.32 to 2.00 ± 0.32) and wet-to-dry ratio (0.36-fold decrease). MiR-34a down-regulation also decreased reactive oxygen species accumulation (0.36-fold decrease), and promoted superoxide dismutase activity and the expression of SIRT1 (1.24-fold increase), heme oxygenase-1 and nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 2 to inhibit oxidative stress in septic mice. Moreover, miR-34a down-regulation suppressed inflammatory response and pyroptosis in septic mice, as evidenced by decreased level of pro-inflammatory factors including tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and IL-18, activity of caspase-1 (0.51-fold decrease) and expression of nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein-3 (0.48-fold decrease), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD, cleaved-caspase-1, and cleaved-gasdermin D (0.36-fold decrease), and increased level of anti-inflammatory factors IL-10. MiR-34a down-regulation also enhanced autophagy in septic mice as evidenced by more autolysosomes and elevated expressions of ATG4B (0.90-fold increase), beclin1, ATG9, and LC3 II/I. Among these experiments, miR-34a up-regulation showed opposite effects on oxidative stress, inflammatory response, pyroptosis, and autophagy in septic mice. Additionally, miR-34a could bind to the 3'-untranslated region of SIRT1 and ATG4B. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that miR-34a was implicated in oxidative stress, inflammation, pyroptosis, and autophagy in the development of sepsis. MiR-34a inhibition had a potential to alleviate sepsis-induced lung injury.
English as a Media of Instruction (EMI) teacher development project is based upon the framework for teacher Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and aims to effectively improve both the ...confidence and overall capacity of EMI lecturers. Kunming Medical University(KMU) conducted the EMI training project to improve teachers' competence for MBBS education. This study aimed to assess teachers' changes following the implementation of this training project, via the Kirkpatrick evaluation model.
A total of trainees (n = 84) were invited as the research objects. The effects of the EMI training project implemented in KMU were evaluated in terms of the reaction, learning, and behavior dimensions based on the Kirkpatrick model. The self-administered online anonymous questionnaires and observations of participants' EMI lectures were administered to all participants to collect the data. Furthermore, to understand participants' perceptions of the management and trainers of the training project, some open-ended questions were required to answer.
Based on 1-3 level of the Kirkpatrick model, all participants were highly satisfied with the EMI training implementation on the reaction level, and expressed positive comments about the management of the training and trainers. On the learning level, participants' scores on awareness of EMI teaching techniques increased significantly(t = 7.122, P < 0.001)with the training process. Concerning the behavior level, the participant's confidence as an EMI instructor increased dramatically at end of the whole training(p < 0.001). Moreover, trainees had applied some EMI skills in class and would like to make some commitment to implement learner-centered learning, to do more practice on EMI techniques.
The findings of this study confirm that EMI training has an effective impact on the competence and confidence of participants as EMI instructors at levels 1-3 of the Kirkpatrick evaluation model. This training may be a potentially beneficial effect on the teaching quality of MBBS education.
We consider a class of stochastic nonlinear Markovian jump systems (MJSs) with partly unknown transition rate and time-varying delays. The system under consideration is subject to the mode ...uncertainties and nonlinear term and disturbance term which are unknown. The main mission is to design the observer-based sliding mode controller for such a complex system. An observer is first constructed, and then we design an integral sliding mode surface such that the MJSs satisfy the reaching condition. The sliding mode control law ensures the stochastic stability of the closed-loop system. Finally, an example is given to illustrate the proposed results.
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•The interactions between resveratrol and gut microbiota on hepatic steatosis are investigated.•The fecal microbiota transplantation is used to investigate the ...interactions.•Resveratrol can reverse high-fat-diet induced dysbiosis.•Resveratrol can ameliorate the hepatic steatosis by regulating gut microbiota.
To investigate whether resveratrol could ameliorate the hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet (HFD) fed mice by modulating gut microbiota composition, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was utilized in this study. Our results showed that resveratrol significantly ameliorated hepatic steatosis in HFD mice, increased the gene expression of fasting-induced adipose factor, and decreased the expression of lipogenesis-related genes and proteins (SREBP-1, FAS and ACC). In addition, resveratrol reversed HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, with an increase in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and a decrease in that of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Subsequent results showed the gut microbiota compositions of FMT recipient groups were similar to those of corresponding donor groups. And the changes of state of hepatic steatosis and expression of SREBP-1, ACC and FAS were coordinated with the results of gut microbiota. In conclusion, these results provided evidence to support the resveratrol could ameliorate the hepatic steatosis by modulating the gut microbiota.
Browning of white adipose tissues (WAT) is recognized as a novel way to combat obesity and its related comorbidities. Thus, a lot of dietary agents contributing to browning of WAT have been ...identified.
In this study, we try to explore the mechanism of the browning of WAT induced by resveratrol (Res) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.
The levels of cell viability and lipid accumulation were evaluated under different concentrations of Res. Cell signaling pathway analysis was performed to investigate the possible mechanisms of the WAT browning effect of Res in 3T3-L1 cells.
We found that Res induced the brown fat-like phenotype by activating protein expressions of brown adipocyte-specific markers, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α), and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Besides, Res reduced lipid accumulation, as shown by Oil Red O staining. The increased small lipid droplets implied that Res-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes had some features of brown adipocytes. The brown fat-like phenotype in 3T3-L1 adipocytes induced by Res was possibly mediated by activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), as brown adipocyte-specific markers were decreased by rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR and the MHY1485 treatment, an activator of mTOR, showed the similar effect of Res on browning markers.
Res induced brown-like adipocyte phenotype in 3T3-L1 adipocytes partly via mTOR pathway, which provided new insights into the utilization of Res to prevent obesity and related comorbidities.
•The COVID-19 pandemic increases the prevalence of depression, anxiety, distress, and insomnia.•Health care workers and COVID-19 patients are high-risk groups of mental health.•Urgent interventions ...are needed for preventing mental health problems.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has generated major mental and psychological health problems worldwide. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, distress, and insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We searched online biomedical databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Ovid, CNKI, and Wanfang Data) and preprint databases (SSRN, bioRxiv, and MedRxiv) for observational studies from January 1, 2020 to March 16, 2020 investigating the prevalence of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We retrieved 821 citations from the biomedical databases and 53 citations from the preprint databases: 66 studies with 221,970 participants were included in our meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of depression, anxiety, distress, and insomnia was 31.4%, 31.9%, 41.1% and 37.9%, respectively. Noninfectious chronic disease patients, quarantined persons, and COVID-19 patients had a higher risk of depression (Q=26.73, p<0.01) and anxiety (Q=21.86, p<0.01) than other populations. The general population and non-medical staff had a lower risk of distress than other populations (Q=461.21, p< 0.01). Physicians, nurses, and non-medical staff showed a higher prevalence of insomnia (Q=196.64, p<0.01) than other populations.
All included studies were from the early phase of the global pandemic. Additional meta-analyses are needed to obtain more data in all phases of the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic increases the mental health problems of the global population, particularly health care workers, noninfectious chronic disease patients, COVID-19 patients, and quarantined persons. Interventions for mental health are urgently needed for preventing mental health problems.
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