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Blood vessel dysfunction causes several retinal diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, familial exudative vitreoretinopathy, macular degeneration and choroidal neovascularization in pathological myopia. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-neutralizing proteins provide benefits in most of those diseases, yet unsolved haemorrhage and frequent intraocular injections still bothered patients. Here, we identified endothelial CD146 as a new target for retinal diseases. CD146 expression was activated in two ocular pathological angiogenesis models, a laser-induced choroid neovascularization model and an oxygen-induced retinopathy model. The absence of CD146 impaired hypoxia-induced cell migration and angiogenesis both in cell lines and animal model. Preventive or therapeutic treatment with anti-CD146 antibody AA98 significantly inhibited hypoxia-induced aberrant retinal angiogenesis in two retinal disease models. Mechanistically, under hypoxia condition, CD146 was involved in the activation of NFκB, Erk and Akt signalling pathways, which are partially independent of VEGF. Consistently, anti-CD146 therapy combined with anti-VEGF therapy showed enhanced impairment effect of hypoxia-induced angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Given the critical role of abnormal angiogenesis in retinal and choroidal diseases, our results provide novel insights into combinatorial therapy for neovascular fundus diseases.

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the potential benefits of active dry yeast (ADY) on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, nutrient digestibility, and serum parameters of weaned beef calves. Thirty Simmental crossbred male calves (body weight = 86.47 ± 4.41 kg and 70 ± 4 d of age) were randomly divided into 2 groups: control (CON) (fed basal ration) and ADY (fed basal ration and 5 g/d ADY per calf). The dietary concentrate-to-roughage ratio was 35:65. All the calves were regularly provided rations 3 times a day at 07:00, 13:00, and 19:00 and had free access to water. The experiment lasted for 60 d. The average daily gain of ADY group was higher (P = 0.007) than that of the CON group, and the ratio of feed intake to average daily gain in the ADY group was reduced (P = 0.022) as compared to the CON group. The concentration of ruminal ammonia-N was higher (P = 0.023) in the CON group than that in the ADY group, but an opposite trend of microbial protein was found between the 2 groups. Also, the ruminal concentrations of propionate and butyrate were higher (P

Recent evidence has shown that methionine (Met) supplementation can improve milk protein synthesis under hyperthermia (which reduces milk production). To explore the mechanism by which milk protein synthesis is affected by Met supplementation under hyperthermia, mammary alveolar (MAC-T) cells were incubated at a hyperthermic temperature of 42°C for 6 h in media with different concentrations of Met. While the control group (CON) contained a normal amino acid concentration profile (60 μg/mL of Met), the three treatment groups were supplemented with Met at concentrations of 10 μg/mL (MET70, 70 μg/mL of Met), 20 μg/mL (MET80, 80 μg/mL of Met), and 30 μg/mL (MET90,90 μg/mL of Met). Our results show that additional Met supplementation increases the mRNA and protein levels of BCL2 (B-cell lymphoma-2, an anti-apoptosis agent), and decreases the mRNA and protein levels of BAX (Bcl-2-associated X protein, a pro-apoptosis agent), especially at an additional supplementary concentration of 20 μg/mL (group Met80). Supplementation with higher concentrations of Met decreased the mRNA levels of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9, and increased protein levels of heat shock protein (HSP70). The total protein levels of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and the mTOR signalling pathway-related proteins, AKT, ribosomal protein S6 kinase B1 (RPS6KB1), and ribosomal protein S6 (RPS6), increased with increasing Met supplementation, and peaked at 80 μg/mL Met (group Met80). In addition, we also found that additional Met supplementation upregulated the gene expression of αS1-casein (CSN1S1), β-casein (CSN2), and the amino acid transporter genes SLC38A2, SLC38A3 which are known to be mTOR targets. Additional Met supplementation, however, had no effect on the gene expression of κ-casein (CSN3) and solute carrier family 34 member 2 (SLC34A2). Our results suggest that additional Met supplementation with 20 μg/mL may promote the synthesis of milk proteins in bovine mammary epithelial cells under hyperthermia by inhibiting apoptosis, activating the AKT-mTOR-RPS6KB1 signalling pathway, and regulating the entry of amino acids into these cells.

Background Night-break (NB) has been proven to repress flowering of short-day plants (SDPs). Long-noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play key roles in plant flowering. However, investigation of the relationship between lncRNAs and NB responses is still limited, especially in Chenopodium quinoa, an important short-day coarse cereal. Results In this study, we performed strand-specific RNA-seq of leaf samples collected from quinoa seedlings treated by SD and NB. A total of 4914 high-confidence lncRNAs were identified, out of which 91 lncRNAs showed specific responses to SD and NB. Based on the expression profiles, we identified 17 positive- and 7 negative-flowering lncRNAs. Co-expression network analysis indicated that 1653 mRNAs were the common targets of both types of flowering lncRNAs. By mapping these targets to the known flowering pathways in model plants, we found some pivotal flowering homologs, including 2 florigen encoding genes (FT (FLOWERING LOCUS T) and TSF (TWIN SISTER of FT) homologs), 3 circadian clock related genes (EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3), LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) homologs), 2 photoreceptor genes (PHYTOCHROME A (PHYA) and CRYPTOCHROME1 (CRY1) homologs), 1 B-BOX type CONSTANS (CO) homolog and 1 RELATED TO ABI3/VP1 (RAV1) homolog, were specifically affected by NB and competed by the positive and negative-flowering lncRNAs. We speculated that these potential flowering lncRNAs may mediate quinoa NB responses by modifying the expression of the floral homologous genes. Conclusions Together, the findings in this study will deepen our understanding of the roles of lncRNAs in NB responses, and provide valuable information for functional characterization in future.

A new trend is emerging that flexible batteries will play an indispensable role in the progress of social science and technology. However, flexibility exists only in a single direction for the existing electrode material. Searching for flexible battery materials has attracted more and more attention from researchers. In this article, the lattice structural stability, electronic structure modulation, and the Li adsorption properties of the heterostructures designed by assembling GeP3 and NbX2 (X = S, Se) together were methodically explored based on van der Waals. We found that diffusion barrier of the GeP3/NbS2 heterostructure with metallic properties is 0.21 eV for Li. It greatly improves the charge and discharge performance of the battery. The predicted heterostructure shows quite high theoretical specific capacity with 540.24 mA h/g, which is higher than the traditional graphite anode (372 mA h/g). It demonstrates superior isotropic flexibility with a considerable small Young's modulus (151.98-159.02 N/m), which has promising application as flexible electrodes for rechargeable battery equipment.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of live yeast and yeast cell wall polysaccharides on growth performance, rumen function and plasma lipopolysaccharides (LPS) content and immunity parameters of beef cattle. Forty Qinchuan cattle were randomly assigned to one of four treatments with 10 replicates in each treatment. The dietary treatments were: control diet (CTR), CTR supplemented with 1 g live yeast (2×1010 live cell g−1 per cattle per day (YST1), CTR supplemented with 2 g live yeast per cattle per day (YST2) and CTR supplemented with 20 g of yeast cell wall polysaccharides (30.0%≤β-glucan≤35.0%, and 28.0%≤mannanoligosaccharide≤32.0%) per cattle per day (YCW). The average daily gain was higher (P=0.023) and feed conversion ratio was lower (P=0.042) for the YST2 than the CTR. The digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (P=0.039) and acid detergent fiber (P=0.016) were higher in yeast supplemented groups. The acetic acid:propionic acid of the YST2 was lower compared with the CTR (P=0.033). Plasma LPS (P=0.032), acute phase protein haptoglobin (P=0.033), plasma amyloid A (P=0.015) and histamine (P=0.038) were lower in the YST2 compared with the CTR. The copies of fibrolytic microbial populations such as Fibrobacter succinogenes S85, Ruminococcus albus 7 and Ruminococcus flavefaciens FD-1 of the YST2 were higher (P

This study aimed to investigate the effects of N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) supplementation on the follicular development of yaks to identify potential mechanisms essential for fertility in yaks. Twelve multiparous anoestrous female yaks were randomly assigned to two groups—Control (fed with a basal diet, n = 6) and NCG (basal diet supplemented with 6.0 g day−1 NCG, n = 6). Yaks in the NCG group had higher numbers of large follicles (&gt, 5 mm in diameter) than those in the Control group. An RNA-sequencing analysis of yak ovaries revealed a total of 765 genes were differentially expressed between experimental groups, of which 181 genes were upregulated and 584 genes were downregulated following NCG supplementation. The results of a transcriptome functional analysis, qRT-PCR validation, and immunohistochemistry revealed that NCG supplementation increased angiogenesis and de novo synthesis of cholesterol in yak ovaries. NCG was also found to upregulate the gene expression of steroidogenic enzymes. Based on this, it was concluded that NCG supplementation promotes the follicular development of yaks mainly by affecting cholesterol metabolism to initiate steroidogenesis in ovaries. The results provide evidence for understanding the mechanisms responsible for NCG promoting follicular development of female yaks, which may contribute to the development and application of NCG in animal reproduction.

Proteinase K (PRK) is a proteolytic enzyme that has been widely used in industrial applications. However, poor stability has severely limited the uses of PRK. In this work, we used two structure-guided rational design methods, Rosetta and FoldX, to modify PRK thermostability. Fifty-two single amino acid conversion mutants were constructed based on software predictions of residues that could affect protein stability. Experimental characterization revealed that 46% (21 mutants) exhibited enhanced thermostability. The top four variants, D260V, T4Y, S216Q, and S219Q, showed improved half-lives at 69°C by 12.4-, 2.6-, 2.3-, and 2.2-fold that of the parent enzyme, respectively. We also found that selecting mutations predicted by both methods could increase the predictive accuracy over that of either method alone, with 73% of the shared predicted mutations resulting in higher thermostability. In addition to providing promising new variants of PRK in industrial applications, our findings also show that combining these programs may synergistically improve their predictive accuracy.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of cofD gene knock-out on the synthesis of coenzyme F420 and production of methane in Methanobrevibacter ruminantium (M. ruminantium). The experiment successfully constructed a cofD gene knock-out M. ruminantium via homologous recombination technology. The results showed that the logarithmic phase of mutant M. ruminantium (12 h) was lower than the wild-type (24 h). The maximum biomass and specific growth rate of mutant M. ruminantium were significantly lower (P M. ruminantium was approximately half of the wild-type; meanwhile, the proliferation was reduced. The synthesis amount of coenzyme F420 of M. ruminantium was significantly decreased (P cofD gene knock-out. Moreover, the maximum amount of H2 consumed and CH4 produced by mutant were 14 and 2% of wild-type M. ruminantium respectively. In conclusion, cofD gene knock-out induced the decreased growth rate and reproductive ability of M. ruminantium. Subsequently, the synthesis of coenzyme F420 was decreased. Ultimately, the production capacity of CH4 in M. ruminantium was reduced. Our research provides evidence that cofD gene plays an indispensable role in the regulation of coenzyme F420 synthesis and CH4 production in M. ruminantium.

This paper details a new method for characterizing the interfacial bonding performance of short-fiber reinforced rubber composites and its correlation with fatigue properties. Meanwhile, the experimental study of interfacial damage during the fatigue process is presented. Aramid fiber (AF) was modified with an aqueous solution of lithium chloride and then coated with butadiene styrene vinyl-pyridine rubber latex (VPL) or maleated polybutadiene liquid rubber (MLPB). Subsequently, the coated AF was introduced into a butadiene styrene rubber (SBR) matrix to fabricate reinforced butadiene styrene rubber/carbon black/aramid fiber (SBR/CB/AF) composites. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to identify the flexible interface layer of the SBR composites. After 30,000 fatigue cycles, the modulus of the interface layer was obviously reduced to below that of the SBR matrix, which produced hysteresis of the reinforcing effect of AF due to concentrated damage in the interface layer. The relative debonding energy (RDE) is innovatively introduced to characterize the interfacial adhesion performance. A higher RDE value can lead to the interface layer absorbing more deformation work and a longer fatigue life of the composite. SBR reinforced by T-AF/MLPB, with its high modulus interface, has the longest fatigue life, corresponding to the highest RDE value.

Transcriptional regulation involves a series of sophisticated protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions (PPI and PDI). Some transcriptional complexes, such as c-Fos/c-Jun and their binding DNA fragments, have been conserved over the past one billion years. Considering the thermodynamic principle for transcriptional complex formation, we hypothesized that the c-Fos/c-Jun complex may represent a thermodynamic summit in the evolutionary space. To test this, we invented a new method, termed One-Pot-seq, which combines cDNA display and proximity ligation to analyse PPI/PDI complexes simultaneously. We found that the wild-type c-Fos/c-Jun complex is indeed the most thermodynamically stable relative to various mutants of c-Fos/c-Jun and binding DNA fragments. Our method also provides a universal approach to detect transcriptional complexes and explore transcriptional regulation mechanisms.

Supramolecular chemistry provides a means to integrate multi-type molecules leading to a dynamic organization. The study of functional nanoscale drug-delivery systems based on supramolecular interactions is a recent trend. Much work has focused on the design of supramolecular building blocks and the engineering of supramolecular integration, with the goal of optimized delivery behavior and enhanced therapeutic effect. This review introduces recent advances in supramolecular designs of nanoscale drug delivery. Supramolecular affinity can act as a main driving force either in the self-assembly of carriers or in the loading of drugs. It is also possible to employ strong recognitions to achieve self-delivery of drugs. Due to dynamic controllable drug-release properties, the supramolecular nanoscale drug-delivery system provides a promising platform for precision medicine.

Monte Carlo simulations are performed to predict the interfacial tension (IFT) for water/ n -dodecane, water/toluene, and water/(50 wt% n -dodecane + 50 wt% toluene) mixtures at a pressure of 1.83 MPa and temperatures ranging from 383.15 to 443.15 K. Simulations for the binary mixtures are performed in the N 1 N 2 p N A T ensemble and those for the ternary mixtures are performed in the N 1 μ 2 μ 3 p N A T ensemble. In order to control the composition of the organic phase for ternary mixture simulations, separate reservoirs for toluene and n -dodecane molecules are utilized, and the minimum and maximum numbers of these molecules in the interfacial box are monitored. Identity switch moves are applied to facilitate the sampling of the spatial distributions of the organic molecules. Calculations of the IFT for water/ n -decane and water/benzene mixtures are used to benchmark the force fields and to develop mixing rules. The combination of the TraPPE–UA force field and the TIP4P/2005 water model with Lorentz-Berthelot combining rules yields fairly accurate predictions at moderate temperatures for water/ n -decane, but appears to slightly overestimate the IFT at elevated temperatures. For the water/benzene mixtures, the TraPPE–EH//TIP4P/2005 combination significantly overestimates the IFT over the entire temperature range. Subsequent modifications of the energetic Lennard-Jones cross-interaction parameters yield good agreement between experimental and simulated IFT data of water/ n -decane and water/benzene. Using a preliminary set of modified cross-interaction parameters for the TraPPE–UA/EH//TIP4P/2005 combination, our predictions for the Industrial Fluid Properties Simulation Challenge yield satisfactory agreement with the benchmark data (mean signed errors of − 2.2 , − 5.1 , and − 0.1 dyn/cm for water/ n -dodecane, water/toluene, and water/(50 wt% n -dodecane + 50 wt% toluene), respectively). A new set of modified cross-interaction parameters developed later based on longer simulation trajectories and a larger set of experimental data is found to reduce the mean signed errors to − 0.1 , − 0.6 , and + 2.5 dyn/cm, respectively, for these three systems. Although a significant enrichment of toluene molecules at the interface is found for the ternary mixture, this enrichment is not sufficient to reproduce the experimental IFT data.

Three ruminally fistulated Xuanhan steers weighting 312.5 (±23.85) kg were used to determine the kinetics of ruminal degradation of nutrients using in situ nylon bag technique, and a modified 3-step in vitro procedure was adopted to estimate intestinal digestibility of 16-h rumen undegradable protein (RUP) of maize cob (MC), distillers grains (DG), spent mushroom substrate (SMS), starch residue of sweet potato (SRSP), citrus pulp (CPP), and rice straw (RS). Samples were incubated for 0, 2, 6, 16, 24, 36, 48 and 72 h. Additional samples were incubated for 16 h in the rumen, and the residues from these bags were transferred to the nitrogen-free polyester bags for determination of intestinal digestibility in vitro. The highest DM disappearance at 6-h incubation was in SRSP (P 0.07) on CP disappearance between DG and MC at all the time points except for 16 and 24 h. NDF and ADF disappearance for SRSP was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than other roughages at all the time points except for ADF at 72 h. The lowest NDF and ADF disappearance was in DG at all the time points (P < 0.01) except 2 and 6 h. The effective degradability (ED) of DM was the highest in CPP (P < 0.01) and the lowest in MC and RS (P < 0.01). The highest and lowest ED of CP was in DG and in RS (P < 0.01), respectively. The ED of NDF was the highest in SRSP (P < 0.01), followed by CPP and RS, and the lowest in DG (P < 0.01). The ED of ADF was the highest in SRSP and CPP (P < 0.05), and the lowest in DG (P < 0.01). For MC, DG SMS, SRSP, CPP, and RS, the intestinal digestibility of RUP was 95.28%, 37.23%, 38.72%, 48.06%, 54.49%, and 37.88%, respectively, and the content of intestinal digestible crude protein (IDCP) was 23.65, 83.63, 35.63, 15.03, 25.60, and 12.03 g/kg, respectively. Distillers grain was considered to be of good quality for the greatest content of IDCP. Although not readily degraded in rumen, CP in MC may be digested well in small intestine.

Supplementary feeding has a significant effect on the growth performance of grazing yaks. However, as far as is known, little information is available concerning how energy or protein feed supplementation affects the serum metabolome of grazing yaks during the warm season. We investigated the effects of supplementation with two different concentrates on the serum metabolome in grazing yaks using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in conjunction with multivariate data analysis. Twenty-four 2-year-old female yaks (133.04 ± 6.52 kg BW) were randomly divided into three groups and fed three different regimes (n = 8 per group): (1) grazing plus hull-less barley (HLB) supplementation, (2) grazing plus rapeseed meal (RSM) supplementation, and (3) grazing without supplementation. Both HLB and RSM supplementation significantly increased the average daily gain (ADG), and ADG under HLB supplementation was 11.9% higher (P < 0.05) than that of the RSM group. Supplementation markedly altered glucose, lipid, and protein metabolism, with the difference manifested as increased levels of some amino acids, acetyl-glycoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, and very low-density lipoproteins . Furthermore, the levels of 3-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, and lactate metabolism were decreased. Serum metabolite changes in yaks in the HLB supplementation treatment differed from those in the RSM supplementation treatment; the difference was primarily manifested in lipid- and protein-related metabolites. We conclude that both the energy supplementation (HLB) and the protein supplementation (RSM) could remarkably promote the growth of yak heifers during the warm season, and the effect of energy supplementation was superior. Supplementary feeding changed the serum metabolite levels of yak heifers, indicating that such feeding could improve glucose's energy-supply efficiency and increase the metabolic intensity of lipids and proteins. Supplementation of yaks with HLB was more efficient in the promotion of yak glucose and protein anabolism compared to supplementation with RSM, while having a lesser effect on lipid metabolism.

Despite recent advances in single-cell analysis technologies, lacking simple methods to keep the live single-cells traceable for longitudinal detection reliably poses a significant obstacle in single-cell secretion analysis. Here we reported the high-density NOMA (narrow-opening microwell array) microchip that realized the retention of ≥97% of trapped single cells in dedicated spatial locations during repetitive detection procedures, verified with both adherent and suspension cells by two researchers independently. We applied it in monitoring single-cell protein secretions sequentially from the same single cells, and we found the digital protein secretion patterns dominate the protein secretion. We also demonstrated the microchip for longitudinally tracking IL-8 and the CD81+EV secretions from the same single-cells over days, which revealed the presence of “super secretors” within the cell population be more persistent to secrete protein or extracellular vesicle for an extended period. The NOMA platform reported here is simple, robust, and easy to operate for tracking sequential measurements from the same single cells, representing a novel and informative tool to inspire new observations in biomedical research.Table of Contents Graphic

Acetic acid and furfural are the two prevalent inhibitors coexisting with glucose and xylose in lignocellulosic hydrolysate. The transcriptional regulations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in response to acetic acid (Aa), furfural (Fur), and the mixture of acetic acid and furfural (Aa_Fur) were revealed during mixed glucose and xylose fermentation. Carbohydrate metabolism pathways were significantly enriched in response to Aa, while pathways of xenobiotic biodegradation and metabolism were significantly enriched in response to Fur. In addition to these pathways, other pathways were activated in response to Aa_Fur, i.e., cofactor and vitamin metabolism and lipid metabolism. Overexpression of Haa1p or Tye7p improved xylose consumption rates by nearly 50%, while the ethanol yield was enhanced by nearly 8% under acetic acid and furfural stress conditions. Co-overexpression of Haa1p and Tye7p resulted in a 59% increase in xylose consumption rate and a 12% increase in ethanol yield, revealing the beneficial effects of Haa1p and Tye7p on improving the tolerance of yeast to mixed acetic acid and furfural. IMPORTANCE Inhibitor tolerance is essential for S. cerevisiae when fermenting lignocellulosic hydrolysate with various inhibitors, including weak acids, furans, and phenols. The details regarding how xylose-fermenting S. cerevisiae strains respond to multiple inhibitors during fermenting mixed glucose and xylose are still unknown. This study revealed the transcriptional regulation mechanism of an industrial xylose-fermenting S. cerevisiae strain in response to acetic acid and furfural. The transcription factor Haa1p was found to be involved in both acetic acid and furfural tolerance. In addition to Haa1p, four other transcription factors, Hap4p, Yox1p, Tye7p, and Mga1p, were identified as able to improve the resistance of yeast to these two inhibitors. This study underscores the feasibility of uncovering effective transcription factors for constructing robust strains for lignocellulosic bioethanol production.

International audience; Conversion-type batteries with electrode materials partially dissolved in a liquid electrolyte exhibit high specific capacity and excellent redox kinetics, but currently poor stability due to the shuttle effect. Using a solid-electrolyte separator to block the mass exchange between the cathode and the anode can eliminate the shuttle effect. A stable interface between the solid-electrolyte separator and the liquid electrolyte is essential for the battery performance. Here, we demonstrate that a stable interface with low interfacial resistance and limited side reactions can be formed between the sulfide solid-electrolyte β-Li(3)PS(4) and the widely used ether-based liquid electrolytes, under both reduction and oxidation conditions, due to the rapid formation of an effective protective layer of ether-solvated Li(3)PS(4) at the sulfide/liquid electrolyte interface. This discovery has inspired the design of a β-Li(3)PS(4)-coated solid-electrolyte Li(7)P(3)S(11) separator with a simultaneously high ion-conduction ability and good interfacial stability with the liquid electrolyte, so that hybrid lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with this composite separator conserve a high discharge capacity of 1047 mA h g(-1) and a high second discharge plateau of 2.06 V after 150 cycles.

BackgroundXylitol accumulation is a major barrier for efficient ethanol production through heterologous xylose reductase-xylitol dehydrogenase (XR-XDH) pathway in recombinantSaccharomyces cerevisiae. Mutated NADH-preferring XR is usually employed to alleviate xylitol accumulation. However, it remains unclear how mutated XR affects the metabolic network for xylose metabolism. In this study, haploid and diploid strains were employed to investigate the transcriptional responses to changes in cofactor preference of XR through RNA-seq analysis during xylose fermentation.ResultsFor the haploid strains, genes involved in xylose-assimilation (XYL1,XYL2,XKS1), glycolysis, and alcohol fermentation had higher transcript levels in response to mutated XR, which was consistent with the improved xylose consumption rate and ethanol yield. For the diploid strains, genes related to protein biosynthesis were upregulated while genes involved in glyoxylate shunt were downregulated in response to mutated XR, which might contribute to the improved yields of biomass and ethanol. When comparing the diploids with the haploids, genes involved in glycolysis and MAPK signaling pathway were significantly downregulated, while oxidative stress related transcription factors (TFs) were significantly upregulated, irrespective of the cofactor preference of XR.ConclusionsOur results not only revealed the differences in transcriptional responses of the diploid and haploid strains to mutated XR, but also provided underlying basis for better understanding the differences in xylose metabolism between the diploid and haploid strains.

In this study, chelating surfactant N-lauroyl ethylenediamine triacetate (N-LED3A) was used as strengthening agent for electrokinetic (EK) remediation of copper (Cu) and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209) co-contaminated low permeability soil. The results indicated that negligible amount of N-LED3A would be adsorbed on the experimental soil. The synchronous elution efficiencies (SEEs) of Cu and BDE209 had reached 65.4% and 49.9%, respectively, when the concentration of N-LED3A was 4000 mg/L, and they kept almost unchanged as the concentration of N-LED3A further increased. Meanwhile, the optimal SEEs were obtained at the pH condition within 6–8. The removal efficiencies of Cu (55.3%–65.8%) and BDE209 (31.4%–46.4%) would be increased with the applied voltage gradient and concentration of N-LED3A. In addition, BDE209 and Cu contaminants were also detected in the catholyte and anolyte, respectively, and their concentrations still showed an uptrend by the end of the experiments. While in the control experiments, the removal efficiency of Cu was in the range of 18.2%–23.6%, and almost no BDE209 was migrated out. The electric current would be increased with N-LED3A concentration increased, further resulting in the enhancement of cumulative electro-osmotic flow (EOF). However, the increment of EOF was limited after an 8-day treatment due to the declined capacity of the soil water supply, and the removal efficiency of BDE209 did not change proportionally to the cumulative EOF as a consequence. The accumulated (21 days) energy consumption under the optimal operation conditions (voltage gradient 1 V/cm, N-LED3A 1 g/L) was 377.28 KWh/m3. Efficiently synchronous removal of BDE209 and Cu could be achieved by the N-LED3A enhanced EK technique, exhibiting a promising application potential in the organic pollutant and heavy metal co-contaminated soil remediation.

In the present experiment, we investigated the impact of heat stress (HS) on physiological parameters, dry matter intake, milk production, the metabolome of milk, and blood plasma in lactating Holstein dairy cows. For this purpose, 20 Holstein lactating cows were distributed in two groups in such a way that each group had 10 cows. A group of 10 cows was reared in HS conditions, while the other group of 10 cows was reared in the thermoneutral zone. The results of the experiment showed that cows subjected to HS had higher respiration rates (p &lt, 0.01) and greater rectal temperature (p &lt, 0.01). Results of milk production and composition explored that HS lowered milk production (p &lt, 0.01) and milk protein percentage (p &lt, 0.05) than cows raised in a thermoneutral place. Furthermore, HS increased the concentrations of N-acetyl glycoprotein, scyllo-inositol, choline, and pyridoxamine in milk, while HS decreased the concentrations of O-acetyl glycoprotein, glycerophosphorylcholine, citrate, and methyl phosphate in milk. Moreover, HS enhanced plasma concentrations of alanine, glucose, glutamate, urea, 1-methylhistidine, histidine, and formate in cows, while the plasma concentration of low-density lipoprotein, very-low-density lipoprotein, leucine, lipid, and 3-hydroxybutyrate decreased due to HS. Based on the findings of the current research, it is concluded that HS alters the milk and blood plasma metabolites of lactating Holstein dairy cows. Overall, in the current experiment, HS altered eight metabolites in milk and twelve metabolites in the plasma of lactating Holstein dairy cows. Furthermore, the current study explored that these metabolites were mainly involved in proteolysis, gluconeogenesis, and milk fatty acid synthesis and could be potential biomarkers for dairy cows undergoing HS.

Background Hyperandrogenism (HA), inflammation, and oxidative damage play key roles in the pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Whether vitamin D adjuvant therapy improves hormonal, inflammation, and oxidative damage in PCOS patients has aroused widespread interest, but the results are controversial. To evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on hormonal, oxidative stress, and inflammatory parameters in patients with PCOS. Methods A literature search was conducted in Medline, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science for studies related to PCOS and vitamin D supplementation. All reports of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before December 2019 were identified. The fixed-effects model or random-effects model was used to calculate pooled estimates of standardized differences in means (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results A total of 956 identified studies were retrieved, and eighteen RCTs involving 1,060 participants were ultimately included in the current meta-analysis. The pooled results demonstrated that vitamin D supplementation in patients with PCOS resulted in a significant improvement in serum total testosterone (TT), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde (MDA). No significant effect on free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), free androgen index (FAI), nitric oxide (NO), and total glutathione (GSH) levels was found. Subgroup analysis showed that vitamin D supplementation reduced hs-CRP and MDA irrespective of the treatment course, type of vitamin D intervention, supplementation frequency, and dosage. Twelve weeks of vitamin D supplementation improved TT and TAC while low-dose vitamin D supplementation (≤1,000 IU/day) improved TT and DHEA-S. Vitamin D co-supplementation reduced TT, FT, and DHEA-S, while a daily supplementation regime improved TT, DHEA-S, and TAC in patients with PCOS. Conclusions The current meta-analysis demonstrates that vitamin D supplementation in patients with PCOS resulted in an improvement in the levels of TT, hs-CRP, TAC, and MDA, but did not affect FT, DHEA-S, SHBG, FAI, NO, and GSH levels. Vitamin D co-supplementation, low-dose vitamin D supplementation (≤1,000 IU/day), and daily supplementation frequency appeared to be more conducive to improving hormones, inflammation, and oxidative stress in PCOS patients.

Acetic acid and furfural are the two prevalent inhibitors coexisting with glucose and xylose in lignocellulosic hydrolysate. The transcriptional regulations of S. cerevisiae in response to acetic acid (Aa), furfural (Fur), and the mixture of acetic acid and furfural (Aa_Fur) while fermenting with glucose and xylose were revealed. The pathways classified as carbohydrate metabolism were significantly enriched in response to Aa, while the pathways belonged to xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism were significantly enriched in response to Fur. In addition to these pathways, some new pathways were activated in response to Aa_Fur, i.e., cofactors and vitamins metabolism, and lipid metabolism. Overexpression of Haa1p or Tye7p improved xylose consumption rate by nearly 50%, while the ethanol yield enhanced by nearly 8%. Further co-overexpression of Haa1p and Tye7 resulted in 59% increase in xylose consumption rate and 12% increase in ethanol yield, revealing the beneficial effects of Haa1p and Tye7p on improving the tolerance of yeast to mixed fermentation inhibitors.

Supplementation plays an important role in reversing the weight loss of grazing yaks during cold season. However, little is known about the effect of supplementation on the serum metabolites of grazing yaks. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of supplementary feeding on average daily gain (ADG) and serum metabolites with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics method in growing yaks during cold season on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Twenty 1.5-year-old female yaks (91.38 &plusmn, 10.43 kg LW) were evenly divided into three treatment groups and a control group (CON) (n = 5 per group). All the yaks were released to graze during daytime, whereas the yaks in the treatment groups were supplemented with highland barley (HLB), rapeseed meal (RSM), and highland barley plus rapeseed meal (HLB + RSM) at night. The whole experiment lasted for 120 days. Results indicated that the ADG of growing yak heifers was increased by concentrate supplementations, and ADG under HLB and HLB + RSM group was 37.5% higher (p &lt, 0.05) than that with RSM supplementation. Supplementary feeding increased the plasma concentrations of total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) of those in the CON group, and concentrations of BUN were higher in the RSM group than in the HLB and HLB + RSM group. Compared with the CON group, serum levels of glutamine, glycine, &beta, glucose were lower and that of choline was higher in the HLB group, serum levels of lactate were lower and that of choline, glutamate were higher in the HLB + RSM group. Compared with the HLB + RSM group, serum levels of glycerophosphoryl choline (GPC) and lactate were higher, and those of choline, glutamine, glutamate, leucine, N-acetyaspartate, &alpha, glucose, and &beta, glucose were lower in the HLB group, serum levels of citrate, GPC and lactate were higher, and those of 3-Hydroxybutyrate, betaine, choline, glutamate, glutamine, N-acetylglycoprotein, N-acetyaspartate, &alpha, glucose were lower in the RSM group. It could be concluded that concentrate supplementations significantly improved the growth performance of growing yaks and supplementation with HBL or HLB plus RSM was better than RSM during the cold season. Supplementation with HBL or HLB plus RSM affected the serum metabolites of grazing yaks, and both treatments promoted lipid synthesis. Supplementation of yaks with HBL plus RSM could improve energy-supply efficiency, protein and lipid deposition compared with HLB and RSM.

The yak rumen microflora has more efficient fiber-degrading and energy-harvesting abilities than that of low-altitude cattle, however, few studies have investigated the effects of dietary energy levels on the rumen bacterial populations and the relationship between rumen bacteria and the intramuscular fatty acid profile of fattening yaks. In this study, thirty yaks were randomly assigned to three groups. Each group received one of the three isonitrogenous diets with low (3.72 MJ/kg), medium (4.52 MJ/kg), and high (5.32 MJ/kg) levels of net energy for maintenance and fattening. After 120 days of feeding, results showed that increasing dietary energy significantly increased ruminal propionate fermentation and reduced ammonia concentration. The 16S rDNA sequencing results showed that increasing dietary energy significantly increased the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes and stimulated the relative abundance of Succiniclasticum, Saccharofermentans, Ruminococcus, and Blautia populations. The quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that high dietary energy increased the abundances of Streptococcus bovis, Prevotella ruminicola, and Ruminobacter amylophilus at the species level. Association analysis showed that ruminal acetate was positively related to some intramuscular saturated fatty acid (SFA) contents, and Prevotella was significantly positively related to intramuscular total polyunsaturated fatty acid content and negatively related to intramuscular total SFA content. This study showed that high dietary energy mainly increased ruminal amylolytic and propionate-producing bacteria populations, which gave insights into how the effects of dietary energy on rumen bacteria are related to intramuscular fat fatty acids of fattening yaks.

Background Enzymatic quantification of creatinine has become an essential method for clinical evaluation of renal function. Although creatinase (CR) is frequently used for this purpose, its poor thermostability severely limits industrial applications. Herein, we report a novel creatinase from Alcaligenes faecalis (afCR) with higher catalytic activity and lower KM value, than currently used creatinases. Furthermore, we developed a non-biased phylogenetic consensus method to improve the thermostability of afCR. Results We applied a non-biased phylogenetic consensus method to identify 59 candidate consensus residues from 24 creatinase family homologs for screening afCR mutants with improved thermostability. Twenty-one amino acids of afCR were selected to mutagenesis and 11 of them exhibited improved thermostability compared to the parent enzyme (afCR-M0). Combination of single-site mutations in sequential screens resulted in a quadruple mutant D17V/T199S/L6P/T251C (M4-2) which showed ~ 1700-fold enhanced half-life at 57 °C and a 4.2 °C higher T5015 than that of afCR-M0. The mutant retained catalytic activity equivalent to afCR-M0, and thus showed strong promise for application in creatinine detection. Structural homology modeling revealed a wide range of potential molecular interactions associated with individual mutations that contributed to improving afCR thermostability. Conclusions Results of this study clearly demonstrated that the non-biased-phylogenetic consensus design for improvement of thermostability in afCR is effective and promising in improving the thermostability of more enzymes.

The ocean harbors a variety of bacteria that contain huge protease resources and offer a great potential for industrial and biotechnological applications. Here, we isolated a protease-secreting bacterium Vibrio pomeroyi strain 12613 from Atlantic seawater and purified a protease VP9 from strain 12613. VP9 was identified as a metalloprotease of the M4 family. VP9 could hydrolyze casein and gelatin but not elastin and collagen. With gelatin as the substrate, VP9 showed the highest activity at 40°C and pH 6.0–8.0. It was stable at temperatures of 50°C and less and in the range of pH 5.0–11.0. VP9 also had good tolerance to NaCl, non-ionic detergents, and organic solvent methanol. Unlike other M4 metalloproteases, VP9 has distinct collagen-swelling ability, and its collagen-swelling effect was concentration dependent. The relative expansion volume of collagen increased by approximately eightfold after treatment with 10 μM VP9 at 37°C for 12 h. The collagen-swelling mechanism of VP9 on bovine-insoluble type I collagen was further studied. Atomic force microscopy observation and biochemical analyses showed that VP9 can degrade proteoglycans in collagen fibers, resulting in the release of collagen fibrils from collagen fibers and the swelling of the latter. In addition, VP9 can degrade glycoproteins, a non-collagenous constituent interacting with collagen in the skin. The characteristics of VP9, such as sufficient specificity toward proteoglycans and glycoproteins but no activity toward collagen, suggest its promising potential in the unhairing and fiber-opening processing in leather industry.

Engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae can reduce xylose to xylitol. However, in S.cerevisiae, there are several endogenous enzymes including xylitol dehydrogenase encoded by XYL2, sorbitol dehydrogenases encoded by SOR1/SOR2 and xylulokinase encoded by XKS1 may lead to the assimilation of xylitol. In this study, to increase xylitol accumulation, these genes were separately deleted through CRISPR/Cas9 system. Their effects on xylitol yield of an industrial S. cerevisiae CK17 overexpressing Candida tropicalis XYL1 (encoding xylose reductase) were investigated. Deletion of SOR1/SOR2 or XKS1 increased the xylitol yield in both batch and fed-batch fermentation with different concentrations of glucose and xylose. The analysis of the transcription level of key genes in the mutants during fed-batch fermentation suggests that SOR1/SOR2 are more crucially responsible for xylitol oxidation than XYL2 under the genetic background of S.cerevisiae CK17. The deletion of XKS1 gene could also weaken SOR1/SOR2 expression, thereby increasing the xylitol accumulation. The XKS1-deleted strain CK17ΔXKS1 produced 46.17 g/L of xylitol and reached a xylitol yield of 0.92 g/g during simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of pretreated corn stover slurry. Therefore, the deletion of XKS1 gene provides a promising strategy to meet the industrial demands for xylitol production from lignocellulosic biomass.

Simple Summary The current study employed RNA-seq technology to analyze the impact of heat stress on the whole transcript sequencing profile in the mammary glands of lactating Holstein dairy cows. In the findings of the current study, heat stress downregulated the expression of casein genes, which resulted in a decrease in milk production. Moreover, heat stress upregulated the gene expression of HSPA1A and HSP90B1, while it downregulated the expression of immune response-related genes that resulted in a reduction in milk yield. Furthermore, there was an increased synthesis of heat shock proteins and unfolded proteins that could reduce the availability of circulating amino acids for milk protein synthesis. The findings of the current experiment may help to explore the impact of heat stress on immune function, milk production, and milk protein synthesis in cows. Abstract Heat stress (HS) exerts significant effects on the production of dairy animals through impairing health and biological functions. However, the molecular mechanisms related to the effect of HS on dairy cow milk production are still largely unknown. The present study employed an RNA-sequencing approach to explore the molecular mechanisms associated with a decline in milk production by the functional analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in mammary glands of cows exposed to HS and non-heat-stressed cows. The results of the current study reveal that HS increases the rectal temperature and respiratory rate. Cows under HS result in decreased bodyweight, dry matter intake (DMI), and milk yield. In the current study, a total of 213 genes in experimental cow mammary glands was identified as being differentially expressed by DEGs analysis. Among identified genes, 89 were upregulated, and 124 were downregulated. Gene Ontology functional analysis found that biological processes, such as immune response, chaperone-dependent refolding of protein, and heat shock protein binding activity, were notably affected by HS. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis found that almost all of the top-affected pathways were related to immune response. Under HS, the expression of heat shock protein 90 kDa beta I (HSP90B1) and heat shock 70 kDa protein 1A was upregulated, while the expression of bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA) and histocompatibility complex, class II, DRB3 (BoLA-DRB3) was downregulated. We further explored the effects of HS on lactation-related genes and pathways and found that HS significantly downregulated the casein genes. Furthermore, HS increased the expression of phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin, cytosolic arginine sensor for mTORC1 subunit 2 (CASTOR2), and cytosolic arginine sensor for mTORC1 subunit 1 (CASTOR1), but decreased the phosphorylation of Janus kinase-2, a signal transducer and activator of transcription factor-5. Based on the findings of DMI, milk yield, casein gene expression, and the genes and pathways identified by functional annotation analysis, it is concluded that HS adversely affects the immune function of dairy cows. These results will be beneficial to understand the underlying mechanism of reduced milk yield in HS cows.

International audience; Polysulfide shuttling and lithium dendrites are two major issues which hinder the development of high-performance Li–S batteries. An ideal solution is to employ hybrid electrolyte consisting of sulfide solid electrolyte (SSE) and liquid electrolyte (LE), where SSE functions as a barrier for suppressing polysulfide shuttling and lithium dendrite growth while LE works as fast Li+ transport media. In this work, Li10SnP2S12 membranes, with a ceramic-like dense structure, provide a rigid barrier for preventing polysulfide shuttling and lithium dendrite growth. Meanwhile, its high ionic conductivity of 3.33 × 10−3 S/cm (25 °C), accompanied with good wetting and Li+ transport abilities of LE, renders the hybrid electrolyte system an excellent Li+ dynamic property. Consequently, the Li–S batteries fabricated with this SSE-based hybrid electrolyte system can operate at an extremely high charge/discharge rate. At a rate of 5C (7.10 mA/cm2), the batteries show an initial discharge capacity of 659.4 mAh/g, maintain at 471.4 mAh/g and 413.3 mAh/g after 50 and 100 cycles，showing a capacity retention of 71.53% and 62.67%, respectively. It is also proposed that a competitive mechanism exists between the electrochemical reaction and side reaction during cycling, where the electrochemical reaction dominates at high rates.

Lipid is the chief energy source for starved animals. &beta, hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) is the main ketone body produced by lipid decomposition. In Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell experiment, it was found that BHBA could be used not only as an energy substance, but also as a ligand of GPR109A for regulating lipid metabolism. However, whether BHBA can regulate lipid metabolism of yaks, and its effective concentration and signal pathway are not clear. This study investigated the effects and mechanism of starvation and BHBA on the lipid metabolism of yak. Eighteen male Jiulong yaks were selected and then randomly divided into three groups: normal feeding group (NG), starvation group (SG), and starvation with BHBA infusion group (SBG). The yaks in the NG group were freely fed during the trial, while the yaks in the SG and SBG groups fasted, from 7th to 9th days of the experiment, the NG and SG were infused continuous with 0.9% normal saline and SBG was infused 1.7 mmol/L BHBA solution respectively. The blood samples were collected on the 0th, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th day of experiment. The subcutaneous adipose tissue of all the yaks in this study were taken from live bodies after infusion. Serum glucose, lipid metabolites, hormone concentrations, and mRNA and protein expressions of key factors of lipid metabolism and signaling pathway in subcutaneous adipose tissue were measured. The results showed that, as compared with NG, starvation significantly reduced the body weight of yak in SG, and significantly increased the concentration of BHBA in serum and the mRNA expression of PKA and CREB1 in subcutaneous adipose tissue, while the mRNA expression of MEK, PKC, ERK1/2, the area of adipocytes, and the proportion of saturated fatty acid were decreased. Whereas, further increase of BHBA concentration through infusion promoted the mRNA expression of GPR109A receptor in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of SBG, inhibited the mRNA expression of AC and PKA, and decreased the phosphorylation protein abundance of CREB1, and significantly increased the diameter and area of adipocytes. These findings suggest that starvation led to enhanced lipid catabolism in yaks. An increasing BHBA concentration could increase the mRNA expression of GPR109A receptor in subcutaneous adipose tissue and inhibit the cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway and lipid decomposition.

Objective This study evaluated the effects of different levels of protein concentrate supplementation on the growth performance of yak calves, and correlated the growth rate to changes occurring in the plasma- amino acids, -insulin profile, and signaling activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) cascade to characterize the mechanism through which the protein synthesis can be improved in early weaned yaks. Methods For this study, 48 early (3 months old) weaned yak calves were selected, and assigned into four dietary treatments according to randomized complete block design. The four blocks were balanced for body weight and sex. The yaks were either grazed on natural pasture (control diet) in a single herd or the grazing yaks was supplemented with one of the three protein rich supplements containing low (17%; LP), medium (19%; MP), or high (21%; HP) levels of crude proteins for a period of 30 days. Results Results showed that the average daily gain of calves increased (0.14 vs 0.23–0.26 kg; p0.05) when the grazing calves were supplemented with protein concentrates. Compared to control diet, the insulin level of calves increased (p

As the gold standard polymer for drug delivery system, polyethylene glycol (PEG) has excellent biocompatibility. It's reported that the low nonspecific interactions between PEG and body contribute to its biocompatibility. However, here we discover dynamic biological interactions exist between PEG and cells on the molecular level. PEG (2 kD) can induce metabolism modulations and survival autophagy by creating an intracellular hypoxic environment, which act as cellular survival strategies in response to the hypoxia. In the cellular adaption process during hypoxia, PEG-treated cells decrease energy consumption by reducing cell growth rate, increase energy supply by amino acid catabolism in a short period, and survival autophagy over a relatively long period, to keep energy homeostasis and survival. Our research provides molecular insights for understanding the mechanism underlying the excellent biocompatibility of PEG, which will be of fundamental importance for further related studies on other polymers and development of polymeric materials with improved characteristics.

Rheological behavior and foamability of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with different molecular structures were investigated. The aim of this study was to find out the viscous and elastic parameters which can predict the foaming properties of PET. It is found that the foams of strain hardening PET have high expansion ratios and fine cell morphologies. This is correlated with the contribution of strain hardening to the improvement of melt strength and failure strain during elongational experiments. Basing on the fact that foamability of a material is governed by its strain hardening (a pure elastic behavior), a viscous parameter (complex viscosity), and an elastic parameter (loss tangent) obtained from dynamic shear rheology are well linked to the expansion ratios of foams. These two parameters formed an optimized viscoelastic window, which is suitable for foaming. This means the foamability of PET can be determined by viscous and elastic parameters without consideration of molecular constitution.

International audience; Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries using hybrid electrolytes, which are composed of solid-electrolyte separator and liquid-electrolyte wetting agent, can effectively eliminate the polysulfide shuttling issue. The cycling performance of these hybrid batteries is mainly limited by the interfacial stability between the solid and liquid electrolytes. This work detailly discusses the influence of the composition on the stability of a highly ionic conductive sulfide solid electrolyte, lithium thiophosphate xLi2S·(100–x)P2S5 (70 ≤ x ≤ 75, SSEs), in hybrid Li-S batteries. It reveals that the solid electrolyte with low Li2S content favors the formation of a SEI layer containing Li3PS4 and therefore improves the interfacial stability with Li anode, while the one with high Li2S content behaves more stable with the cathode. Using 75Li2S·25P2S5 as the separator, a hybrid battery runs more than 400 cycles with a low capacity fading rate of 0.14%/cycle. This is benefited from the elimination of polysulfide shutting and especially the excellent compatibility of the sulfide solid electrolyte with both anode and cathode.

Pig and poultry production in China had experienced considerable changes from 1960 to 2010. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of these changes on greenhouse gas emission inventories (expressed as CO2 equivalent) from these two sectors. The inventories included methane emissions from enteric fermentation, methane and nitrous oxide production from manure management. The greenhouse gas emissions from these sources in 2010 in pig sector were 17, 62 and 21%, respectively, and that in poultry sector (including chicken, duck, goose and others) were 1, 18 and 81%, respectively. Total CO2 equivalent increased from 1960 to 2010 in both pig (11 582 to 55 564 Gg yr−1) and poultry (1 497 to 14 873 Gg yr−1) sectors. Within poultry sector, emissions from chicken, duck, goose and others accounted for 74, 15, 11 and 0.01% in 2010, respectively. However, during the last 50 years, these emissions continuously reduced when related to production of 1 kg of pork (8.01 to 1.14 kg kg−1), poultry meat (1.19 to 0.37 kg kg−1) and egg (0.47 to 0.33 kg kg−1), which is mainly associated with the continuous improvement in production efficiency in all management systems. These results provide benchmark information for Chinese authorities to develop appropriate policies and mitigation strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from pig and poultry sectors.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of active dry yeast (ADY) on rumen microbial composition and slaughter performance of beef cattle. Thirty-two finishing beef cattle (simmental crossbred cattle ♂ × cattle-yaks ♀), with an average body weight of 110 ± 12.85 kg, were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: the low plane of nutrition group (Control), low plane of nutrition group + ADY 2 g/head/d (ADY2), low plane of nutrition group + ADY 4 g/head/d (ADY4) and high plane of nutrition group (HPN). ADY supplementation increased average daily gain (PP>0.05). The serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase activity in control and ADY4 group was higher than HPN group (P=0.001). The neutral detergent fiber (P=0.022) and acid detergent fiber (P=0.043) digestibility in HPN group was greater than control, but no difference was obtained among ADY2, ADY4 and HPN group (P>0.05). The rumen ammonium nitrogen content in control was greater than ADY2 and ADY4 group (P=0.003), and no difference was obtained ADY2, ADY4 and HPN group (P>0.05). The propionic acid content in the rumen in ADY2, ADY4, and HPN group were greater than control group (PP=0.014) and shannon (P=0.045) indexes in control and HPN group were greater than ADY4 group. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the HPN group was higher than ADY4 group (P=0.015). At the genus level, HPN and ADY4 were clustered together, and the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae UCG-002 in ADY4 group was higher than control and HPN group (P=0.004). In conclusion, supplementation ADY 4 g/head/d shift the rumen microbial composition of beef cattle fed low plane of nutrition to a more similar level with cattle fed with HPN diet, produced comparable carcass weight with HPN diet.

The intensity and specialization of beef cattle production make off-site fattening, and introduce new breeds need transportation to achieve the goals. The present study was aimed to investigate effects of land transport stress on hormones levels, microbial fermentation, microbial composition, immunity and correlation among them among Simmental Crossbred Cattle (SC), Native Yellow Cattle (NY), and Cattle Yak (CY). High-throughput sequencing was used to investigate the rumen microbial diversity. After transport stress cortisol (COR), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-&alpha, and IL-1&beta, were increased (p &lt, 0.05) in all groups. Rumen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was increased (p &lt, 0.05) in SC and CY groups. Total volatile fatty acids were increased (p &lt, 0.05) in all groups. The ruminal microbiota about OTUs, Chao1, and Shannon in SC and CY groups were higher than before transport. Prevotella1 in NY group was higher (p &lt, 0.05) than other groups before transport, after transport Firmicutes and Lactobacillus were increased (p &lt, 0.05) than other groups in CY. Lactobacillus was positively correlated with IL-6 and IL-4. Under transport stress, cattle may suffer from inflammatory response through modulating HPA axis and microbiota metabolite affects the secretion of hormone levels and immune function and breeds factor affect the performance of stress resistance.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer, and occurs in people with chronic liver diseases. Current treatment methods include surgery, transplant, and chemotherapy. Our study demonstrates runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) as a novel molecule in the initiation and development of HCC, and the role of its interaction with vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) in HCC. We showed the suppressive role of RUNX1 in the proliferation and migration of hepatocytes. In addition, the repressor RUNX1 functioned as a transcription factor on the promoter of VEGFA to inhibit the expression of VEGFA. Study in the HCC cells demonstrated that the suppression of HCC proliferation and migration was masked in the presence of overexpressed VEGFA. Introduction of RUNX1 into HCC mice model significantly limited the tumor growth. In summary, our study demonstrated that RUNX1 functions as a repressor in the HCC and this suppressive function was dependent on its effect on VEGFA.

International audience; Delicate control of the precipitate/supernatant ratio in the precursor suspension during liquid-phase synthesis of Li7P3S11 provides information on how the morphology of the impurities affect the ionic conductivity. In this work, the influence of the precipitate/supernatant ratio on the phase structure, the morphology and the ionic conductivity of Li7P3S11 prepared in acetonitrile is studied. It is revealed that in the supernatant-excess region, the excess amorphous "Li2S·P2S5" finally turns into a poorly ionic conductive phase Li4P2S6 which wraps Li7P3S11 particles, increasing the interfacial resistance. In the precipitate-excess region, a thio-LISICON III phase turned from the excess precipitate tends to stay within Li7P3S11 particles, and therefore its negative influence on the total ionic conductivity is not evident. Consequently, a slight composition shift into the precipitate-excess region benefits the ionic conductivity of the resultant solid electrolyte.

Reproductive efficiency is the main factor limiting yak production on the Tibet Plateau. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementation with calcium chloride (CaCl) and monocalcium phosphate (MCP) for 30 days before breeding on body weight (BW) change, serum bone metabolism biomarkers, conception rate, and calving rate of grazing yaks. Ninety 3 year old yak heifers (153.05 ± 6.56 kg BW) were assigned to three treatments (n = 30 per treatment): grazing without supplementation (CONT), grazing plus calcium chloride supplementation (CaCl), and grazing plus monocalcium phosphate supplementation (MCP). Compared with the CONT group, supplementation with CaCl increased the serum concentrations of osteocalcin and decreased the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels (p &lt, 0.05), supplementation with MCP increased the average daily gain (ADG), serum concentrations of phosphorus (P) and osteocalcin, conception rate, and calving rate (p &lt, 0.05), whereas it decreased the serum concentrations of hydroxyproline, ALP, and calcitonin (p &lt, 0.05). Both CaCl and MCP supplementation had no effect on serum calcium (Ca) concentration. The ADG, conception rate, and calving rate were higher in the MCP group than in the CaCl group (p &lt, 0.05), while the serum concentrations of hydroxyproline and calcitonin were lower (p &lt, 0.05). It could be concluded that premating supplementation with MCP increased the body weight gain and subsequent conception and calving rate of grazing yaks. Supplementation with MCP had a positive effect on body condition and bone metabolism, thus providing a better estrous condition for grazing yak heifers, which could contribute to enhancing reproduction efficiency.

Balanced electrical conductivity and mechanical properties are always of great significance for the practical applications of conductive polymer composites (CPCs), especially for the inherent brittle poly (lactic acid) (PLA)-based CPCs. Herein, the phase control methodology (i.e. carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and intense extensional flow field synergistically induced PLA crystallization) was proposed to achieve the in situ electrically conductive nanohybrid shish that is composed of plenty of CNTs coated by PLA crystalline phase. In addition, the conductive networks were easily constructed by the combined effect of 1 D wire-like conductive nanohybrid shish and 2 D patch board-like graphene (GE) for highly conductive PLA/CNT/GE nanocomposites. Compared with common pure PLA (4.2 × 10−12 S/cm), the electrical conductivity of PLA/CNT5/GE0.1 (1.32 S/cm) was sharply increased by 12 orders of magnitude. Meanwhile, due to the strong reinforcing effects of nanohybrid shish, PLA/CNT5/GE0.1 exhibited unexpectedly simultaneous enhancement in ductility, strength, and stiffness, outperforming common pure PLA with increase of 1952%, 40.6%, and 24.1%, respectively. Of particular interest was the conductive nanohybrid shish fabricated with industrial feasibility, displaying the competitive advantages in achieving high-conductivity and high-performance PLA, even for other semicrystalline polymers. The unprecedented combination of high electrical conductivity, ductility, strength, and stiffness established in PLA-based nanocomposites only by tailoring the crystalline microstructures is in great potential need for electromagnetic shielding, electronic devices, and antistatic packaging applications.

Focus on the design and execution of super-hydrophobic strategies, the phase control methodology, that is, solvent-volatilization and crystallization induced phase separation at low temperature (−15 °C), is proposed to construct three dimension (3D) poly(lactic-acid) (PLA) porous structures, denser stereo-complexed crystals (SCs) protrusions and bi-continuous SCs fibrillary networks in poly(L-lactic acid)/poly(D-lactic acid) (PLLA/PDLA) blends for the first time. We show that generating hierarchical structures are keys to enable the super-hydrophobicity, instead of traditionally adding fillers. By comparing the interfacial configurations of PLA pores with different PDLA content, it is shown that numerous SCs protrusions on the skeleton of 3D pores with 30% PDLA, especially for the bi-continuous SCs fibrillary networks with 50% PDLA, very different from the porous morphology of pure PLLA. The controllable PLA chains sharply facilitate the formation of SCs protrusions by the hydrogen bonding, which give rise to the limited time to growth ordered and large-sized lamellae. Of particular interests are our first establishments of developing uniform SCs protrusions on the internal 3D porous skeleton and multi-scale 3D fibrillary network structure for stereo-complex PLA, which afford the inner hydrophobic coincidence with the surface even after processed one-hour (1 h) by ultrasound in water. Therefore, we hypothesize that the key factor influencing super-hydrophobicity of the PLLA/PDLA films are 3D pores and bi-continuous SCs fibrillary networks combined with the roughly crystalline surface structure resembling rugged protrusions, leading to the water contact angle (CA) up to 155°. Moreover, the icing-resistance and thermal degradation behavior are highly obvious. This work firstly pave the way to polymer-derived networks with combination of self-constructed crystallization protrusions and bi-continuous 3D fibrillary network structure by hydrogen bonding for elegant implementation of super-hydrophobic characteristics other than the traditional addition of fillers.

In this article, we put forward the possibility to prepare amorphous powder from chalcogenide compositions usually located out of the glassy domain when synthesized via a conventional melt-quenching technique. Both X-ray diffraction and DSC techniques were used to demonstrate that the original Ge15Ga20S65 composition can be prepared in the amorphous state by using mechanical milling starting from raw metallic elements. Subsequent hot-pressing by spark plasma sintering in a graphite die above the glass transition temperature leads to sintered pellets presenting a high rate of nanocrystals of about 30 nm. These as-made glass–ceramic materials present promising transparency in the infrared range.

This study examined the effect of supplementing exogenous cellulase on nutrient and energy utilization. Twelve desexed Boer crossbred goats were used in a replicated 3×3 Latin square design with 23-d periods. Dietary treatments were basal diet (control, no cellulase), basal diet plus 2 g unitary cellulase/kg of total mixed ration dry matter (DM), and basal diet plus 2 g compound cellulase/kg of total mixed ration DM. Three stages of feeding trials were used corresponding to the three treatments, each comprised 23 d, with the first 14 d as the preliminary period and the following 9 d as formal trial period for metabolism trial. Total collection of feces and urine were conducted from the 4th d of the formal trial, and gas exchange measures were determined in indirect respiratory chambers in the last 3 d of the formal trial. Results showed that cellulase addition had no effect (p0.05) on nutrient digestibility. Dietary supplementation of cellulase did not affect (p0.05) N intake and retention in goats. Gross energy (GE) intake, fecal energy and urinary energy excretion, heat production were not affected (p0.05) by the cellulase supplementation. Total methane emission (g/d), CH4 emission as a proportion of live weight or feed intake (DM, organic matter [OM], digestible DM or digestible OM), or CH4 energy output (CH4-E) as a proportion of energy intake (GE, digestible energy, or metabolizable energy), were similar (p0.05) among treatments. There was a significant (p0.001) relationship between CH4 and live weight (y = 0.645x+0.2, R(2) = 0.54), CH4 and DM intake (y = 16.7x+1.4, R(2) = 0.51), CH4 and OM intake (y = 18.8x+1.3, R(2) = 0.51) and CH4-E and GE intake. Results from this study revealed that dietary supplementation of cellulase may have no effect on nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention, energy metabolism, and methane emission in goat.

Many researchers have attempted to address the problem of frequency reduction or overheating damage caused by inadequate thermal conductivity of substrates. Developing advanced, green, and practical thermal interface materials (TIMs) is one of the most promising solutions to date. Herein, a facile method is proposed to achieve fascinating thermal conductivity of TIMs via constructing two-dimension (2D) reduced graphene oxide (rGO) decorated with zero-dimension (0D) silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in hybrid nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) film. The surface morphology and chemistry of Ag-rGO-functionalized NFC (Ag-rGO/NFC) are significantly altered by adding a small amount of Ag-rGO nanosheets (9.6 wt%), resulting in remarkable improvement in the thermal conductivity. The in-plane thermal conductivity of Ag-rGO/NFC (27.55 W m−1 K−1) showed a massive enhancement of over 1095% compared to pure NFC (2.3 W m−1 K−1), accompanied by 573% increase in through-plane conductivity. These enhancements could be attributed to the robust heterostructural Ag-rGO networks and dense layer-by-layer (LBL) structures. It is likely that these controllable structures come into being due to the intense static adsorption between graphene oxide (GO) and Ag+ as well as the hydrogen bonding interaction between GO and NFC. It is worth noting that exceptionally fast heat transport is achieved for Ag-rGO/NFC in practical application, with values as high as 0.18 °C/s, in sharp contrast to 0.16 °C/s for pure NFC films in the time range of 80–220 s. This could be due to the excellent thermal conduction networks built by Ag-bridged rGO nanosheets. This work provides valuable insights into the fabrication of highly thermal conductive composites in the promising field of electronic equipment, integrating intelligent functionality and environmental compatibility.