This study aimed to investigate the effect of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) derived protein supplementation on skeletal muscle atrophy of hindlimb casted immobilized rats. Twenty-four six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: control sedentary group (CD, n = 8), control diet casting group (CDC, n = 8), and the mealworm-derived protein supplemented casting group (MDC, n = 8). CD and CDC group was supplemented AIN-76G diet and mealworm-derived protein supplemented diet for MDC group was substituted as 5% casein protein to 5% mealworm protein for 5 weeks and left hindlimb casting immobilization using casting tape for CDC and MDC group was done 1 week before sacrifice. After 5 weeks of mealworm supplementation, the soleus muscle weight of the MDC group was significantly higher compared to the CDC group. In addition, the level of muscle protein synthesis factors p-Akt/Akt, p-4EBP1/4EBP1, and p-S6K/S6K significantly increased in the MDC group compared to the CDC group. On contrary, the level of muscle protein degradation factors (MuRF1 and atrogin-1) was significantly lower in the MDC group than that of the CDC group. These results suggest that mealworm-derived protein supplementation may have a significant role in the prevention of skeletal muscle atrophy via stimulation of muscle protein synthesis factors and inhibition of muscle protein degradation factors, and therefore a promising intervention in sarcopenia.

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Heat shock protein 90α (HSP90α) has been confirmed to be upregulated in the blood in various types of tumors and may therefore serve as a potential tumor marker. However, whether HSP90α exists in nipple discharge remains unknown, and its expression and diagnostic value in nipple discharge remain unclear. In this study, the expression of HSP90α, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and cancer antigen 153 in nipple discharge and blood from 128 patients was measured. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to assess the diagnostic value of HSP90α. Further, its relationship with clinicopathological parameters of patients with breast cancer was analyzed. The results showed that the expression of HSP90α in nipple discharge was significantly higher in patients with breast cancer than in those with benign disease, and its diagnostic value was better than that of CEA. Combination of HSP90α and CEA showed better diagnostic efficacy than HSP90α or CEA alone. Moreover, the expression of HSP90α displayed a stepwise increase from benign lesions, followed by carcinoma in situ to invasive ductal carcinoma. HSP90α was positively correlated with Ki67 expression. However, there was no significant difference in the expression of HSP90α in blood between patients with breast cancer and benign disease. Further, the expression of HSP90α was higher in nipple discharge than in blood. In summary, HSP90α was upregulated in the nipple discharge of patients with breast cancer, and it may be related to the occurrence and progression of breast cancer. HSP90α in nipple discharge may serve as a potential diagnostic marker for breast cancer.

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Elevated postprandial triglyceride (TG) concentrations are linked to a relatively high risk of cardiovascular disease. Eccentric endurance exercise, such as downhill walking and running, can provide metabolic benefits similar to concentric exercise. However, whether eccentric exercise affects postprandial lipemia remains unknown. Nine healthy young men performed level running (trial) or downhill running (DR trial, −15% slope) at 60% VO_2max or rest (CON trial) for 30 min in a randomized crossover design. The participants were fed a high-fat meal the next day. Blood and expired gas samples were collected before and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h after the meal. Muscle soreness was measured using a visual analog scale. The DR trial induced mild muscle damage. During the 6-h postprandial period, serum TG concentrations and area under the curve (AUC) were similar across the three trials. The DR trial had a significantly higher AUC of nonesterified fatty acid concentrations and a significantly lower AUC of glucose concentrations than the CON trial. The results suggested that neither moderate-intensity DR nor running a level surface had a significant effect on lipemia after a high-fat meal. However, DR improved the postprandial glycemic response.

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Ultra-marathons are typically held over harsh terrains such as mountains, deserts, or other wilderness, and place severe demands on the physical and psychological capabilities of participants. Adventure-race competitors commonly report hallucinations. The goal of this study was to gain insight into visual hallucinations (VHs) during a mountain ultra-marathon. Thirty-one Taiwanese runners who participated in the 2018 Run Across Taiwan Ultra-Marathon, which spans 246 km with an altitude difference of 3266 m and an overall cut-off time of 44 h, volunteered for this study. Self-reported questionnaires on sleep duration, hallucinatory experiences, clinical symptoms of cold- and heat-related illnesses, and the 2018 Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) Score were recorded prerace, during the summit, immediately postrace, and 3-days postrace. Hematological samples were collected 1 week before, immediately after, and 3 days after the race. Eight ultra-marathoners (six males and two females; seven finishers and one withdrawer) were recruited. Three out of eight (37.5%) subjects (two males and one female) reported experiencing VHs during the last 60 km. Three out of five (60%) lower-ranked subjects experienced VHs. All eight runners slept for <30 min during the race. None of the runners presented with headache either during or after the race to meet the criteria for AMS. None of the runners suffered an abnormal thermoregulatory response or a hypoglycemic episode throughout the ultra-marathon. The changes in blood osmolality immediately postrace were subclinical, despite being statistically significant. Among the three runners with VHs, none presented with severe dehydration or dysnatremia immediately postrace. High-altitude exposure, hyper/hypothermia, dehydration, dysnatermia, or hypoglycemia did not seem to contribute to hallucination onset in our subjects during the event. VHs of ultra-marathoners may be associated with excessive physical exertion and sleep deprivation.

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Macrophages are essential for host defense as they control foreign pathogens and induce acquired immune responses. Activated macrophages secrete pro-inflammatory reactive substances causing local cell and tissue inflammatory response, which helps an organism resist the invasion of foreign pathogens. Excessive or chronic inflammation can cause several diseases. Previous studies have reported that vinegar treatment decreases the levels of several inflammatory cytokines and biomarkers, including mitogen-activated protein kinases, cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and nitric oxide (NO). However, the benefits of wood vinegar produced from Griffith's ash (Fraxinus formosana Hayata) in reducing inflammation have not been investigated yet. Thus, assuming that wood vinegar exerts anti-inflammatory effects in macrophages, in this study, we investigated the potential anti-inflammatory effects of the wood vinegar from Griffith's ash using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response model in RAW264.7 macrophages. We showed that the wood vinegar inhibited the production of iNOS, NO, and interleukin 6. In addition, we found that the wood vinegar reduced the phosphorylation levels of p38 and protein kinase C-α/δ in the LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Based on these results, we suggest that the produced wood vinegar can reduce inflammation in LPS-activated macrophages.

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Positive feeling or rewarding experience is crucial for individuals to operative their cognitive activities via an outcome evaluation of incentive reinforcement. For a long time, rewarding process or outcome evaluation is assumed greatly influenced by neuronal construct that holds individuals' impulsiveness, a capacity to inhibit unwanted behaviors provoked in a given situation. In the present study, we proposed that the outcome evaluation or rewarding experience can influence the occurrence of impulsiveness too. We hypothesized that animals would be more likely to deliver impulsive action in the place where it was previously associated with reinforcing process, in which central dopamine may play an important role. By employing five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT), we examined whether one of the five holes where rats made a correct response to get the reward would gain a higher probability to deliver premature or perseverative activities than other holes in the next trial of 5-CSRTT under baseline or longer waiting period condition. The effects of D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390 were also evaluated in the above paradigm. We demonstrated that (i) the influence on motoric impulsive response from previous rewarded experience can be described in a behavioral paradigm such as the 5-CSRTT, (ii) both prematures and perseverations at the hole associated with previous rewarding were about one-fifth of probability, however were statistically not correlated unless the interventions of inter-trial interval = 7 plus SCH23390, and (iii) the hole associated with the positive reinforcement of the 5-CSRTT appears more likely for rats to carry out an intuitive impetus under SCH23390 in a longer waiting condition. Our results may shed some insight toward the role of rewarding process in impulsive behavior.

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