Search Results (26,733)

Acidic polysaccharides, valued for their outstanding bioactivity and physicochemical properties, represent a promising strategy for metabolic disease intervention. In this study, three acidic polysaccharide fractions (BRP-1, BRP-2, and BRP-3) were isolated from Brassica rapa L. using membrane filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. BRP-3, notable for its high galacturonic acid content (76.64%), was further purified to yield the homogeneous fraction BRP-3-1 (Mw = 22.3 kDa). Combining GC-MS, FTIR, and NMR analyses, we report for the first time the detailed structure of BRP-3-1—a heteropolysaccharide composed of rhamnose (1.687%), galacturonic acid (75.584%), galactose (14.452%), and arabinose (8.277%)—with a backbone composed with T-α-L-Araf-(1 → 5)-α-L- Araf -(1 → 4)-α-D-GalpA-(1 → 4)-α-D-2-O- GalpA Me-(1 → 4)-α-D-GalpA-(1 → 4)-α-D-GalpA-(1 → 3)-Galp-(1 → 4)-α-D-GalpA, and T-Rhap, T-Galp as well as T-GalpA for branched chain and terminals. In HepG2 insulin-resistant cells, BRP-3-1 demonstrated potent dual regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism—enhancing glucose consumption, lowering total cholesterol, and significantly reducing triglyceride levels in the high-dose group (800 μg/mL), outperforming BRP-2. This work systematically defines the structure of a highly bioactive acidic polysaccharide from B. rapa L. and confirms its metabolic regulatory effects, offering a strong scientific foundation for its application in functional foods and as an adjuvant therapeutic for metabolic disorders. Full article

Background/Objectives: Low-fishmeal diets are widely adopted to improve sustainability in shrimp aquaculture, yet reduced palatability and metabolic stress frequently suppress feed intake and growth. We evaluated whether a crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) by-product protein hydrolysate (CBPH) could mitigate low-fishmeal-induced performance losses by modulating feeding-related metabolic signaling and gut microbiota features in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Methods: In an 8-week feeding trial, 360 juveniles (initial body weight 0.46 g) were assigned to three diets (four replicates per diet): a commercial control (CON), a low-fishmeal diet (LFM), and LFM supplemented with 2% CBPH (CBPH). Growth, feed utilization, whole-body composition, hemolymph biochemical indices (TP, TG, GLU, AST, ALT), intestinal appetite-related gene expression (5-HTR, CART, CCK1R, D2-like, NPY), and intestinal microbiota profiles (full-length 16S rRNA sequencing, V1–V9, PacBio) were assessed. Results: Compared with the LFM group, CBPH supplementation increased feed intake and improved feed conversion, restoring final body weight and growth rates to levels comparable to CON. CBPH also alleviated low-fishmeal-associated metabolic stress, including reduced AST and ALT activities and lower glucose levels. The LFM diet induced upregulation of anorexigenic genes (5-HTR, CART, D2-like) and downregulation of NPY in the shrimp intestine, whereas CBPH supplementation reversed these transcriptional changes. In addition, microbiota richness indices (ACE and Chao1) were elevated by CBPH relative to LFM, accompanied by compositional shifts at the phylum and genus levels. Conclusions: CBPH effectively alleviated low-fishmeal-induced reductions in feeding and growth, accompanied by coordinated changes in feeding-related gene expression, systemic biochemical markers, and gut microbiota composition, supporting its potential as a functional ingredient to stabilize metabolic responses in low-fishmeal shrimp feeds. Full article

Insulin acts in the brain to promote satiety. Aging individuals may have brain insulin resistance and altered appetite perceptions. However, it is unclear if exercise impacts cerebral reward centers and appetite perception in middle-aged to older individuals. Purpose: To assess whether a single exercise bout alters cerebral blood flow (CBF) in reward centers in relation to appetite perceptions. Methods: Fifteen sedentary adults (12F; ~56 ± 2y; ~31 ± 1 kg/m²) completed a control and acute exercise condition (70% maximal oxygen consumption) in a randomized, counterbalanced order in the evening. Following an overnight fast, CBF in the accumbens, thalamus, and amygdala (pCASL MRI) was evaluated before and after intranasal insulin spray (INI, 40 IU) administration. Plasma glucose and insulin as well as an appetite visual analog scale (VAS) were assessed at fasting, 30, and 90 min post-INI, as well as at 30 min intervals of a 120 min 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Total area under the curve (tAUC) was calculated. Results: Exercise tended to lower blood glucose (p = 0.072) and plasma insulin (p = 0.007) tAUC, compared with rest. Exercise also raised right thalamus (p = 0.029) and left amygdala CBF (p = 0.023). The rise in fasting CBF in these regions, and the accumbens, correlated with reduced insulin tAUC (r = −0.55 to −0.73, p < 0.050). Although there was no difference in hunger, satisfaction, fullness, or prospective food consumption after exercise, changes in INI-stimulated thalamus CBF related to fullness tAUC after exercise (r = −0.57, p = 0.044). Conclusions: A single exercise bout might increase fasting CBF in some brain regions associated with appetite perception through a potential insulin-related mechanism. Full article

Hemotherapy in small ruminants is indicated for several acute and chronic conditions; however, its clinical use is often limited by the difficulty in identifying suitable donors, particularly regarding blood volume availability and hematologic compatibility. Xenotransfusion in small ruminants with bovine blood may represent a practical alternative in emergency situations involving severe anemia when homologous donors are unavailable. This study evaluated the clinical, hematologic, biochemical, and blood gas responses of sheep subjected to acute blood loss followed by bovine whole blood xenotransfusion. Six healthy adult castrated male sheep (mean body weight 44.3 ± 7.2 kg) underwent removal of 40% of their estimated total blood volume. Parameters were assessed before hemorrhage induction (T0) and at times T30, T6h, T12h, T24h, T48h, T72h, T96h, T5d, T6d, T7d, T8d and T16d after transfusion. Acute blood loss significantly reduced packed cell volume and erythrocyte count at T0 (p < 0.05). After xenotransfusion, packed cell volume increased at T30min, T6h, and T12h and remained stable until T72h (p < 0.05), with progressive erythrocyte recovery and sustained macrocytosis. Total leukocyte count remained unchanged, whereas platelets increased at T7D (p < 0.05). Total protein decreased at T0 and subsequently increased. Transient elevations in urea, creatinine, glucose, pO₂, and SO₂ were observed (p < 0.05), without acid–base imbalance. Clinical parameters progressively stabilized, and no severe transfusion reactions occurred. Bovine whole blood xenotransfusion may represent a promising therapeutic alternative for sheep subjected to acute blood loss under the experimental conditions evaluated in this study. The procedure was associated with improvements in clinical, hematological, and biochemical parameters, and no severe transfusion reactions were observed during the monitoring period. These findings support the potential clinical applicability of this approach as an emergency intervention in situations where homologous donors are not readily available. Full article

Sporulation represents a complex metabolic reprogramming process in bacteria. In this study, we used CRISPR-Cpf1 to knock out spoIIE and rsfA in Bacillus licheniformis. The ΔspoIIE strain completely lost sporulataion capacity, while ΔrsfA showed a 25% reduction. Although viable cell counts decreased by 80.7% and 45.7%, respectively, glucose consumption and 2,3-butanediol synthesis remained unchanged, and acetoin synthesis increased by 19% in ΔspoIIE. Per-cell metabolic rates were significantly enhanced: glucose uptake increased 2.7–3.4-fold, acetoin synthesis 2.3–4.2-fold, 2,3-butanediol synthesis 1.7-fold, and heterologous protein expression 10–15-fold. These findings demonstrate that blocking sporulation liberates metabolic resources and enhances the specific productivity of vegetative cells, providing a strategy for engineering high-performance B. licheniformis cell factories. Full article

The ADA 2026 Standards of Care in Diabetes introduces pivotal updates that refine diagnostic and therapeutic workflows. Expanding upon the 2025 guidelines, the 2026 edition broadens continuous-glucose-monitoring (CGM) eligibility to include all individuals on insulin or non-insulin therapies where CGM aids management. Significant new guidance addresses hyperglycemia management in oncology, identifying metformin as the preferred first-line intervention for drug-induced glycemic excursions. Additionally, type 1-diabetes (T1D) risk stratification is refined; a confirmed single IA-2 autoantibody now warrants monitoring levels similar to the Stage 2 disease. Furthermore, prerequisites for automated-insulin-delivery (AID) initiation have been removed to streamline technology access. For laboratory professionals, these revisions emphasize the critical role of advanced glycemic metrics and precise autoantibody profiling in complex clinical contexts. Full article

Background: Genetic causes of growth failure should be suspected in patients born small for gestational age (SGA) who fail to show postnatal catch-up growth, present with severe short stature (SS), and exhibit a poor or absent response to growth hormone (rhGH) therapy. Mutations in the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) gene are associated with impaired growth, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), low birth weight and/or length, and postnatal SS. Case Description: A 9-year-old boy, born SGA for birth length, was evaluated for severe SS. Common causes of SS were excluded. At 9 years and 7 months of age, his height was 112.6 cm (−3.99 SDS), weight 18 kg (−3.79 SDS), and BMI 14.2 kg/m² (−1.8 SDS); pubertal development was Tanner stage 1. The target height was 158 cm (−2.62 SDS). Bone age was delayed by approximately one year compared with chronological age. Serum IGF-1 levels were within the upper-normal range for age. GH therapy (0.035 mg/kg/day) was initiated due to the lack of catch-up growth in an SGA subject. After three years of treatment, the height gain was only 0.5 SDS. IGF-1 levels showed a transient treatment-related increase, followed by persistent normalization during ongoing therapy. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis identified novel heterozygous paternal nonsense variant in the IGF1R gene: c.3498C>G (p.Tyr1166Ter). At 12 years of age, impaired fasting glucose and reduced glucose tolerance were detected; consequently, it was decided to discontinue rhGH therapy, also in light of the IGF1R mutation and the lack of height recovery. Conclusions: This case underlines the critical role of genetic testing in the evaluation of patients born SGA. The coexistence of SGA status and an IGF1R gene mutation may provide a clear explanation for both the poor response to rhGH therapy and the increased risk of alterations in glucose metabolism. An extensive narrative review of the literature on growth outcomes and glucose metabolism abnormalities during GH treatment in SGA patients carrying IGF1R variants was also performed. Full article

Microbiome-targeted interventions have shown promise for metabolic health, yet clinical evidence remains inconsistent, particularly across stages of metabolic disease. This study evaluated the metabolic effects, safety, and tolerability of EDC-HHA01, a microbiome-informed, non-pharmacologic intervention, in adults with prediabetes (PD) or Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM). In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, participants received EDC-HHA01 or placebo for six months. The study was adequately powered (≥80%) for the primary endpoint. Outcomes included changes in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), indices of insulin resistance, markers of metabolic endotoxemia, safety-related laboratory parameters, and exploratory patient-reported measures. Analyses were stratified by metabolic status and background metformin use. In participants with PD, EDC-HHA01 supplementation was associated with a statistically and clinically meaningful reduction in HbA1c compared with placebo, supported by concordant improvements in fasting insulin, insulin resistance indices, and reductions in endotoxemia markers. In participants with T2DM, changes were directionally similar but attenuated and did not reach statistical significance. The intervention was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events, high adherence, and no clinically relevant adverse changes in renal or lipid parameters. Exploratory patient-reported outcomes indicated favorable acceptability but were not interpreted as efficacy endpoints. EDC-HHA01 was associated with biologically coherent, stage-dependent metabolic effects, most evident in PD. These findings support further investigation of microbiome-informed strategies as metabolic support in early-stage dysregulation. Full article

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) are widely used in agriculture, but prospective studies on their chronic exposure and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and glucose metabolism disorders are scarce. Most previous studies focused on agricultural workers and relied on questionnaires or urinary metabolites for exposure assessment. We conducted a nested case–control study with 1006 pairs of participants based on the Dongfeng–Tongji cohort to investigate the association between serum OP levels, T2D risk, and fasting blood glucose (FBG) changes over a 5-year follow-up. Serum OP concentrations were measured by gas chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Among the 29 types of OPs detected, Chlorpyrifos and Fenitrothion had detection rates of 99.9% and 87.9%, respectively. Etrimfos and Parathion were detected in 75.8% and 64.5% of participants. Four types of OPs—Ethoprophos, Phorate, Diazinon, and Malathion, categorized into ≤LOD and >LOD groups—had detection rates ranging from 20% to 60%. OP exposure was not associated with T2D risk in the overall population. Among participants with baseline FBG ≥ 6.1 mmol/L, OP exposure showed a positive association with incident T2D and with increases in FBG during a 5-year follow-up. In contrast, OP exposure was associated with decreased FBG in the overall population. Moreover, significant interactions were observed between OP exposure and baseline FBG levels (P_interaction < 0.05), suggesting that baseline glucose levels may modify the metabolic effects of chronic OP exposure. These findings highlight the importance of considering basal glucose status when evaluating the long-term metabolic effects of OP exposure. Full article

Bifunctional materials present a promising route to develop advanced devices, yet the dual performance of CoNi₂S₄ nanosheets anchored on a porous scaffold is seldom reported. Herein, we propose a rational fabrication strategy to construct a three-dimensional hierarchical electrode via the in-situ growth of densely aligned CoNi₂S₄ nanosheets on a conductive fabric scaffold. This integrated porous architecture concurrently offers an ultrahigh specific surface area, efficient mass transport, and rapid electron conduction. As a supercapacitor, the electrode achieves a high areal capacitance of 3198 mF cm⁻² at 4 mA cm⁻² and retains 98.1% of its initial capacitance after 1000 cycles at 20 mA cm⁻². As a non-enzymatic glucose sensor, it exhibits outstanding selectivity (<4.1% interference), high sensitivity (1049 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²), a wide linear range (1–8 mM), and a low detection limit (1 μM). These results highlight the significant potential of this binder-free, scaffold-supported nanosheet design for advancing integrated energy storage and biosensing systems. Full article

Background/Objectives: Metformin has been proposed as a potential treatment for hyperprolactinemia irrespective of etiology. Previous studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency attenuates the prolactin-lowering effect of metformin in women. This study examined whether vitamin D status modifies the effects of this agent on prolactin and other anterior pituitary hormones in men with iatrogenic hyperprolactinemia. Methods: Seventy-five adult men with antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia and type 2 diabetes or prediabetes were enrolled. Participants were assigned to three equal groups based on vitamin D status and supplementation: vitamin D-naive men with sufficient levels (group 1), vitamin D-naive men with deficiency (group 2), and men with sufficient vitamin D levels receiving oral supplementation for at least six months (group 3). All participants received metformin (3 g/day) for six months. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D, markers of glucose metabolism, total and monomeric prolactin, TSH, gonadotropins, ACTH, testosterone, and IGF-1 were measured at baseline and after treatment. Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable among groups except for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. Seventy participants completed the study. Metformin improved glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in all groups, with greater effects in men with sufficient vitamin D status. Reductions in total and monomeric prolactin were observed only in groups 1 and 3 and were associated with baseline prolactin concentrations and pretreatment 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. These changes were accompanied by modest increases in LH and testosterone, and improvements in sexual functioning. Vitamin D levels and other hormonal parameters remained unchanged. The magnitude of the metformin effect did not differ between groups 1 and 3. Conclusions: Adequate vitamin D status is necessary for metformin to reduce prolactin levels in men with iatrogenic hyperprolactinemia. Full article

This work presents a novel compact size and sensitive band-stop filter, whose notch frequency is 5.5 GHz, and it is suggested to estimate the concentration of blood glucose non-invasively. The filter is made on FR-4, with the size of the entire structure being 15 mm × 25 mm × 1.6 mm. A human finger-phantom model, comprising layers of skin, fat, blood, and bone, is built in an EM simulation environment (HFSS) to assess the sensing performance of the human finger-phantom. The glucose content in the blood layer is kept at a range of 0 to 500 mg/dL, with the ratio of the resonant frequency shift being assessed by placing the finger phantom on the proposed filter structure. The sensing principle is based on the fact that the resonant frequency of the microwave sensor changes with changes in glucose concentration in the tissue, and this is due to the changes in the dielectric properties of the tissue. The shifts obtained in the study are used for the evaluation of glucose concentration in blood as a non-invasive technique. This work explores five microstrip band-stop filters noted as Designs I, II, III, IV, and V. In these filters, better results of minimum and maximum frequency shifts of 0.1 and 1.4 MHz in Design I and 0.1 and 2 MHz in Design IV are observed. The simulated results of Design IV are verified with measured results. Good matching is also noted at the lower frequencies. The filters are compact, cost-effective, and give better sensitivity performance. Hence, the proposed design can be used for glucose monitoring in blood samples involving a non-invasive method. Full article

Psoriasis patients face a significantly elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), necessitating early and accurate risk prediction tools. This study developed and validated a machine learning model to predict CVD risk in psoriasis patients using clinical and biochemical data from 2685 individuals. After preprocessing and addressing class imbalance with SMOTE-NC, six machine learning models (Logistic Regression as baseline, XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost, GradientBoosting, AdaBoost) were evaluated using a completely leak-free nested cross-validation framework (outer k = 10, inner k = 3) with randomized hyperparameter search (n_iter = 50). Feature selection via the Boruta algorithm was performed separately within each training fold to prevent data leakage. The Boruta algorithm identified 21 key predictors, including age, systolic blood pressure (SBP), apolipoprotein B (apoB), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and complement C1q. CatBoost emerged as the top-performing model (OOF ROC-AUC = 0.908, 95% CI [0.892–0.924]; PR-AUC = 0.509, 95% CI [0.448–0.578]; F1 = 0.540; MCC = 0.498; Brier = 0.078), while the Logistic Regression baseline achieved ROC-AUC = 0.909 but was eliminated due to poor calibration (Brier = 0.114 > 0.10). All metrics were evaluated with 95% bootstrap confidence intervals (n = 1000 iterations). Explainable AI techniques (SHAP, LIME, Anchors) revealed that older age, elevated SBP, and metabolic dysregulation (e.g., high apoB, FBG) were the strongest CVD predictors. Local explanations were provided for five representative patients (high-risk, low-risk, and randomly selected), rather than a single instance, to better characterize model stability. Limitations include the single-center, retrospective design and lack of external validation. Future work should incorporate multi-ethnic cohorts and advanced biomarkers (e.g., genetic, imaging data) to enhance generalizability. This study demonstrates the potential of explainable AI to improve CVD risk stratification in psoriasis patients, offering a scalable tool for preventive cardiology. Full article

Metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), are chronic disorders characterized by dysregulated glucose and lipid homeostasis and represent major contributors to insulin resistance, cardiovascular complications, and liver injury. Despite considerable progress in elucidating their pathogenesis, effective preventive and therapeutic strategies remain limited. N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) RNA demethylase AlkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5), a nuclear epitranscriptomic “eraser,” broadly regulates post-transcriptional gene expression by modulating RNA splicing, nuclear export, stability, and translation. Dysregulation of ALKBH5 has been implicated in tumorigenesis, immune dysfunction, and stress responses, underscoring its wide-ranging biological significance. Emerging evidence further indicates that ALKBH5 plays a pivotal role in maintaining metabolic homeostasis. However, most existing reviews have focused primarily on its roles in cancer, leaving its functions in metabolic diseases relatively unexplored. In this context, this review summarizes the structural characteristics and molecular mechanisms of ALKBH5 and discusses its emerging roles across a spectrum of metabolic diseases, including MAFLD, metabolic complications such as diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetes-associated cognitive impairment (DACI), atherosclerosis (AS), and diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), as well as metabolism-related inflammatory diseases represented by rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Furthermore, recent pharmacological strategies targeting ALKBH5 are discussed, with attention to the challenges posed by its context-dependent, tissue-specific, and disease stage-specific activities. Overall, ALKBH5 emerges as a key epitranscriptomic regulator in metabolic diseases, and advancing therapeutic strategies that account for molecular context and tissue specificity will be critical for achieving safe and effective clinical interventions. Full article

Background: Chronic low-grade inflammation plays a central role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and its complications. Neopterin, a marker of macrophage activation and Th1-mediated immune response, has been associated with cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. However, its relationship with diabetic autonomic neuropathy remains insufficiently investigated. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study including 129 participants (93 with T2DM and 36 with obesity without carbohydrate disturbances). Clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical assessments were performed. Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy was evaluated using Ewing cardiovascular reflex tests and sudomotor dysfunction scoring. Neopterin concentrations were measured in serum. Correlation, ROC, and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Neopterin levels were not significantly different between T2DM and obesity groups. No differences were observed in patients with versus without peripheral neuropathy, nephropathy, or retinopathy. However, neopterin levels were significantly higher in individuals with cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (p = 0.013). Neopterin correlated with cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy score, sudomotor dysfunction, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR. It showed a moderate negative monotonic correlation with eGFR (Spearman’s rho = −0.41, p< 0.001). In multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, HbA1c, BMI, eGFR, and diabetes duration, each 1-SD increase in neopterin was associated with 2.67-fold higher odds of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (95% CI 1.21–5.89; p = 0.015). Conclusions: Circulating neopterin is independently associated with cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in T2DM but not with classical microvascular complications. These findings suggest a potential role of immune-mediated mechanisms in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy. Full article