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Multifunctional hydrogel materials are being increasingly used in wearable sensing devices and biomedical applications, but the comprehensive performance of hydrogel materials must be further developed. To prepare hydrogels with better self-healing properties, biomacromolecules such as sodium alginate and carboxymethyl chitosan were used as raw materials by combining the dynamic imine bonding network formed by both materials with the coordination bonding network formed by acrylic acid and aluminum ions. The double network structure of the hydrogel provides the hydrogel with excellent self-healing properties (up to 127% recovery of toughness after self-healing) and good mechanical properties with a fracture strain of 3787%. Substances with antimicrobial properties in the hydrogel network inhibited the growth of E. coliand S. aureus. In addition, the hydrogel has good electrical conductivity with a conductivity of 1.41 S/m. This study examined multiple properties of the hydrogel and provides a reference for the application of this material in practical application scenarios.

It is attractive to develop chemically recyclable polymers with desirable performances from commercial monomers to avoid the expensive and time-consuming scalable process for completely new monomers. In this contribution, we present the rapid and controlled ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of bio-sourced commercial alkyl-δ-lactones to produce closed-loop recyclable polyesters in the presence of an organophosphazene base (tBu-P2)/urea binary catalyst. The obtained polyesters are capable of recycling back to pristine monomers by simply heating them in bulk in the presence of stannous octanoate (Sn(Oct)2) as the catalyst. The effects of alkyl substituent length on the polymerization kinetics, thermodynamics, as well as the properties of resultant poly(alkyl-δ-lactone)s were investigated. Well-defined triblock copolymers consisting of poly(alkyl-δ-lactone)s as soft middle block and PLLA as hard end block were successfully prepared by one-pot, sequential ROP of alkyl-δ-lactones and l-lactide (l-LA). These triblock copolymers can be used as pressure-sensitive adhesives without the addition of tackifiers or other additives. The chemical recycling of these triblock copolymers to recover ethyl lactate and alkyl-δ-lactones with high yields was achieved by alcoholysis and then distillation under reduced pressure.

Antimicrobial peptides have been extensively studied as potential alternatives to antibiotics. Porcine angiogenin 4 (pANG4) is a novel antimicrobial peptide in the angiogenin (ANG) family, which may have a regulatory effect on intestinal microflora. The object of present study is obtained pANG4 protein by heterologous expression, so as to explore the biological function of recombinant pANG4 (rpANG4). The pANG4 was expressed in Pichia pastoris(P. pastoris) and anti-inflammatory effects were investigated in intestinal porcine epithelial cell line-J2 (IPEC-J2) and mice. Purified rpANG4 had bacteriostatic activity and did not cause hemolysis or cytotoxicity at concentrations below 128 μg/mL. Purified rpANG4 increased the activity of IPEC-J2 and reduced apoptosis in vitro. rpANG4 reduced the pro-inflammatory gene expression and upregulated tight junction protein gene expression during inflammation. rpANG4 alleviated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced liver and spleen damage, intestinal inflammation, jejunal apoptosis genes’ expression, and improved immune function in an in vivomice model. rpANG4 increased tight junction protein gene expression in jejunum, thereby improving the jejunum intestinal barrier function. In conclusion, rpANG4 had antibacterial activity, inhibited intestinal inflammation, improved intestinal barrier function, and alleviated liver and spleen damage. The current study contributes to the development of antibiotic substitutes and the improvement of animal health.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of sows with yeast cultures (XPC) during late gestation and lactation on the immune performance of their weaned offspring under lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stress. A total of 40 Landrace × Yorkshire sows (parity 3 to 7) with similar backfat thickness were selected and randomly divided into two treatment groups: a control group (basal diet) and a yeast culture group (basal diet + 2.0 g/kg XPC). The trial was conducted from day 90 of gestation to day 21 of lactation. At the end of the experiment, 12 piglets with similar weights were selected from each group and slaughtered 4 h after intraperitoneal injection with either saline or LPS. The results showed that the concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the thymus and tumor necrosis factor-α in the liver increased significantly (P< 0.05) in weaned piglets after LPS injection. Maternal dietary supplementation with XPC significantly reduced the concentration of inflammatory factors in the plasma and thymus of weaned piglets (P< 0.05). LPS injection significantly upregulated the expression of some tissue inflammation-related genes, significantly downregulated the expression of intestinal tight junction-related genes, and significantly elevated the protein expression of liver phospho-nuclear factor kappa B (p-NF-κB), the phospho-inhibitory subunit of NF-κB (p-IκBα), phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK), Nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), and the inhibitory subunit of NF-κB (IκBα) in weaned piglets (P< 0.05). Maternal dietary supplementation with XPC significantly downregulated the gene expression of IL-6and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the thymus and decreased the protein expression of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in the liver of weaned piglets (P< 0.05). In summary, injection of LPS induced an inflammatory response in weaned piglets and destroyed the intestinal barrier. Maternal dietary supplementation of XPC improved the immune performance of weaned piglets by inhibiting inflammatory responses. Yeast cultures are complex in composition, containing a variety of nutrients and unknown growth factors, and play an important role in maintaining intestinal health and improving immune function. This study showed that the addition of yeast cultures to the maternal feed could improve the immune status of their offspring through maternal transmission.Weaning older, more mature pigs helps prevent many of the adverse gastrointestinal effects associated with weaning stress, and maternal nutritional interventions can influence offspring gut health and growth performance. Therefore, it is important to explore the effects of maternal nutritional interventions on their offspring. Yeast cultures are a class of biological products consisting of metabolites produced during the anaerobic fermentation of yeast and some live yeast cells, and function to maintain the intestinal health of animals and improve production performance. The effect of sow dietary supplementation with yeast cultures on the immune performance of their weaned offspring under lipopolysaccharide stress has not so far been reported. This study provided a basis for understanding the effects of maternal transfer of yeast cultures to their offspring and provided data to support the application of yeast cultures in actual production.

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of yeast-derived postbiotic (YDP) supplementation in sow diets during late gestation and lactation on the performance of sows and their offspring. At 90-d gestation, 150 sows (Landrace × Large White, parity: 3.93 ± 0.11) were allocated to three dietary treatments (n= 50 per treatment): 1) basal diet (control [CON]), 2) basal diet with 1.25 g/kg YDP (0.125 group), and 3) basal diet with 2.00 g/kg YDP (0.200 group). The experiment continued until the end of weaning (day 21 of lactation). Supplementation with YDP resulted in greater deposition of backfat in sows during late gestation and an increasing trend in average weaning weight of piglets than observed in the CON group (P< 0.01, P= 0.05). Supplementation with YDP decreased piglet mortality and diarrhea index in piglets (P< 0.05). In farrowing sows’ serum, the glutathione peroxide content in the YDP group was lower than that in the CON group (P< 0.05); the content of immunoglobulin A (IgA) in the 0.200 group or YDP group was higher than that in the CON group (P< 0.05). In lactating sows’ serum, malondialdehyde content was higher in the YDP group (P< 0.05). In day 3 milk of sows, the 0.200 group tended to increase the lactose content (P= 0.07), and tended to decrease the secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) content (P= 0.06) with respect to that in the CON group. The sIgA content in the YDP group was lower than that in the CON group (P< 0.05). In the milk of sows, the 0.200 group tended to increase the lactose content with respect to that in the CON group (P= 0.08); the immunoglobulin G (IgG) content in the 0.125 group or YDP group was higher than that in the CON group (P< 0.05). YDP supplementation increased the IgA content in the milk (P< 0.01). In sow placenta, the content of total anti-oxidant capacity in the YDP group was higher than that in the CON group (P= 0.05); and the content of transforming growth factor-β in the YDP group was higher than that in the CON group (P< 0.05). In piglet serum, the content of IgG and immunoglobulin M in the 0.125 group was higher than that in the CON and 0.200 groups (P< 0.05). In summary, this study indicated that feeding sows diets supplemented with YDP from late gestation through lactation increased sows’ backfat deposition in late gestation and piglets’ weaning weight; decreased piglet mortality and diarrhea index in piglets; and improved maternal and offspring immunity.Dietary supplementation with a yeast-derived postbiotic during late gestation and lactation in sows increased the body reserve in sows in late gestation and the weaning weight in piglets; decreased the diarrhea index in piglets; and improved the immunity of sows and piglets. Dietary supplementation with the yeast-derived postbiotic may serve as an important approach to optimizing nutrient programs in sow production.Rapid fetal and reproductive tissue development in late gestation poses a challenge to sow health. Nutritional interventions have been shown to effectively improve animal performance. The present study investigated whether dietary supplementation with a yeast-derived postbiotic (YDP) during late gestation and lactation might improve the health and production performance of sows and piglets. At two tested dose levels (1.25 and 2.00 g/kg in the diet), dietary YDP supplementation increased backfat deposition in sows during late gestation and weaning weight in piglets, and decreased the diarrhea index in piglets. YDP supplementation tended to increase lactose content in sow milk. Dietary YDP supplementation improved immunity in sows at farrowing and piglets at weaning. These findings indicated that YDP use improves sows’ production performance and may serve as an important approach to optimizing nutrient programs in sow production.

An effective and sensitive method for the determination of isopyrazam (IZM) isomers (syn-IZM and anti-IZM) and their metabolites (syn545364 and syn545449) in tomato and soil by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed in the present study. The method showed excellent linearities (R2= 0.999) at 0.005–5 mg/L. The recoveries were 92.0–107%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) values were lower than 9.40% in tomato and soil matrices at 0.01, 0.1, and 10 mg/kg. The limits of detection (LODs) of the four compounds ranged from 6.88 × 10–5to 2.70 × 10–4mg/kg, while the limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 2.20 × 10–4to 9.20 × 10–4mg/kg. The storage stability test results showed that syn-IZM, anti-IZM, syn545449, and syn545364 were stable in tomato at −20 °C within 36 weeks, and the maximum degradation rates were 16.0, 12.0, 7.10, and 12.0%, respectively. The field dissipation test results showed that the half-lives of syn-IZM in tomato and soil were 2.60–10.2 and 13.6–33.0 days, respectively, while the half-lives of anti-IZM in soil were 21.7–46.2 days, and no residues of anti-IZM were detected in tomato. The terminal residue test results showed that the residue of syn-IZM and anti-IZM in tomato ranged from <0.0100–0.490 to <0.0100–0.0850 mg/kg. The present results showed that anti-IZM degraded faster than syn-IZM in tomato and soil, and had a lower residue level in tomato.