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It is necessary to explore potent therapeutic agents via regulating gut microbiota and metabolism to combat Parkinson's disease (PD). Dioscin, a bioactive steroidal saponin, shows various activities. However, its effects and mechanisms against PD are limited. In this study, dioscin dramatically alleviated neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, and restored the disorders of mice induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). 16 S rDNA sequencing assay demonstrated that dioscin reversed MPTP-induced gut dysbiosis to decrease Firmicutes -to- Bacteroidetes ratio and the abundances of Enterococcus , Streptococcus , Bacteroides and Lactobacillus genera , which further inhibited bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity and blocked bile acid (BA) deconjugation. Fecal microbiome transplantation test showed that the anti -PD effect of dioscin was gut microbiota-dependent. In addition, non-targeted fecal metabolomics assays revealed many differential metabolites in adjusting steroid biosynthesis and primary bile acid biosynthesis. Moreover, targeted bile acid metabolomics assay indicated that dioscin increased the levels of ursodeoxycholic acid, tauroursodeoxycholic acid, taurodeoxycholic acid and β-muricholic acid in feces and serum. In addition, ursodeoxycholic acid administration markedly improved the protective effects of dioscin against PD in mice. Mechanistic test indicated that dioscin significantly up-regulated the levels of takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R), GLP-1, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and down-regulated NADPH oxidases 2 (NOX2) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) levels. Our data indicated that dioscin ameliorated PD phenotype by restoring gut dysbiosis and regulating bile acid-mediated oxidative stress and neuroinflammation via targeting GLP-1 signal in MPTP-induced PD mice, suggesting that the compound should be considered as a prebiotic agent to treat PD in the future. [Display omitted] • Dioscin prevents MPTP-induced neuroinflammation and oxidative stress and gait disorder in mice. • Dioscin alleviates MPTP-induced gut dysbiosis via greatly affecting BSH encoded gut microbiota. • Dioscin activates GLP-1 expression to regulate bile acid-mediated oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. • Ursodeoxycholic acid administration improves the protective effects of dioscin against PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze the miRNA expression profiles in Lawsonia intracellularis-infected porcine intestines, infected pigs were first identified using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). Then, RNA from infected intestines and control tissues were isolated and subjected to microarray analysis and RT-PCR. Results showed that a total of 83 miRNAs were differentially expressed between the infected samples and controls, out of which 53 were upregulated and 30 were downregulated. Validation using RT-PCR showed a high degree of confidence for the obtained data. Using the current miRBase release 21.0, nine groups of miRNAs were located in the same cluster, and three groups of miRNAs were found to belong to the same family. Interestingly, except for ssc-miR-10a-5p, all clustered miRNAs and the family members exhibited the same expression patterns. Pathway analysis of the putative gene targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs showed that they were involved in the immune response, amino acid metabolism and cell communication/growth/motility. Thus, the results indicate that altered miRNA expression profiles can affect immunity, metabolism and cellular processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning (AOPP) is becoming a significant problem and a potential cause of human mortality because of the abuse of organophosphate compounds. This study aims to determine the independent prognostic factors of AOPP by using multivariate logistic regression analysis. METHODS: The clinical data for 71 subjects with AOPP admitted to our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. This information included the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores, 6-h post-admission blood lactate levels, post-admission 6-h lactate clearance rates, admission blood cholinesterase levels, 6-h post-admission blood cholinesterase levels, cholinesterase activity, blood pH, and other factors. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify all prognostic factors and independent prognostic factors, respectively. A receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted to analyze the testing power of independent prognostic factors. RESULTS: Twelve of 71 subjects died. Admission blood lactate levels, 6-h post-admission blood lactate levels, post-admission 6-h lactate clearance rates, blood pH, and APACHE II scores were identified as prognostic factors for AOPP according to the univariate analysis, whereas only 6-h post-admission blood lactate levels, post-admission 6-h lactate clearance rates, and blood pH were independent prognostic factors identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic analysis suggested that post-admission 6-h lactate clearance rates were of moderate diagnostic value. CONCLUSIONS: High 6-h post-admission blood lactate levels, low blood pH, and low post-admission 6-h lactate clearance rates were independent prognostic factors identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the business procedure, the structure and function modules of ZhaoKou irrigation management system are established in this work. Combining the fuzzy clustering method and Markov chain, this paper designed the precipitation forecasting module. And the crop water demand forecasting module is built on Penman formula and crop coefficient index. The establishment of water re-distribution module was successfully used in the optimization plan of the irrigation. In order to integrate the above three modules, Flex Viewer framework has been chosen to build the management system of Zhaokou irrigation based on the ArcGIS Server REST technology. Hence, the implement of this irrigation management system provided a reference application of Flex Viewer in water resources re-scheduling and improved the irrigation management level and optimization plan of the irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 44-year-old man was admitted to a county-level hospital with severe abdominal distension and pain after eating several rice cakes. He was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis 9 years ago and recovered after conservative treatment. Based on the results of abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography, abdominal ultrasound, in combination with the clinical symptoms, and laboratory results, a clinical diagnosis of acute severe pancreatitis was made. After conservative treatment for 3 days, no significant effect was seen, and the heart rate of the patient increased to 150 beats per minute. Meanwhile, the patient showed signs of respiratory distress, aggravated abdominal distension and abdominal pain, and decreased oxygen saturation and thus was transferred into the intensive care unit. The patient was intubated and treated with continued renal replacement therapy. Tienam and teicoplanin were used to control infection. However, the patient developed high fever with increased inflammatory biomarkers and was transported to an emergency intensive care unit (EICU) of a university-affiliated hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]