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This study aimed to isolate and select potential probiotic strains from the feces of healthy forest musk deer and to evaluate their in vitro probiotic characteristics. Twelve isolates were obtained and identified by cell morphology and bacterial 16S rDNA sequencing. Their survival under low pH and bile salt conditions, antagonistic activities against five pathogens (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, Salmonella enteritidis ATCC 13076 and Arcanobacterium pyogenes LSN3), auto-aggregation characteristics, hydrophobicity, antibiotic susceptibility and antibiotic resistance genotypes, and growth curves were evaluated. The results showed that five Lactiplantibacillus plantarum isolates and one Pediococcus acidilactici isolate survived at pH 4, or in 0.5% bile salt with survival rates of more than 88.5% and 87%, respectively. All of them inhibited the five pathogens with diameters of inhibition zones of 17.20-20.19 mm for E. coli ATCC 25922, S. aureus ATCC 25923, P. aeruginosa PAO1 and S. enteritidis ATCC 13076 and of 14.23-15.53 mm for A. pyogenes LSN3. They had similar auto-aggregation capacity (53.1%–56.2%) and surface hydrophobicity (52.9%–56.0%) to L. paracasei L22. They were resistant to streptomycin, ciprofloxacin and vancomycin, carried the vanX gene and rapidly grew; the optical density at 600 nm (OD600) reached 9.0 and 7.1 for L. plantarum and P. acidilactici from the gut of forest musk deer after 24 h incubation, respectively. Our findings demonstrated that these six isolates can be used as sources for the development of probiotic preparations intended for forest musk deer.

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes are closely related to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Arterial spin labeling (ASL) uses water proton in blood as an endogenous contrast agent to obtain CBF, which has attracted must attention in AD studies due to its advantages of non⁃invasiveness and safety. However, there is still a lack of uniformity in the implementation of ASL in clinical settings, and limited by sample size and different population cohorts, research results may be different or lack of universality, which lead to the fact that this technology has not yet been widely applied in AD. This article reviews the new research progress on the correlation between CBF measured by ASL and AD disease process, pathologic biomarkers, vascular pathological burden, apolipoprotein E ε4 (ApoEε4) gene, and cognitive impairment development, in order to provide guidance for the clinical application of ASL in AD.

ABSTRACT Amino acids play a crucial role in the growth and development of insects. Aphids cannot ingest enough amino acids in plant phloem to meet their requirements, and therefore, they are mainly dependent on the obligate symbiont Buchnera aphidicola to synthesize essential amino acids. Besides Buchnera, aphids may harbor another facultative symbiont, Arsenophonus, which alters the requirement of the cotton-melon aphid Aphis gossypii for amino acid. However, it is unclear how Arsenophonus regulates the requirement. Here, we found that Arsenophonus ameliorated growth performance of A. gossypii on an amino acid-deficient diet. A deficiency in lysine (Lys) or methionine (Met) led to changes in the abundance of Arsenophonus. Arsenophonus suppressed the abundance of Buchnera when aphids were fed a normal amino acid diet, but this suppression was eliminated or reversed when aphids were on a Lys- or Met-deficient diet. The relative abundance of Arsenophonus was positively correlated with that of Buchnera, but neither of them was correlated with the body weight of aphids. The relative expression levels of Lys and Met synthase genes of Buchnera were affected by the interaction between Arsenophonus infections and Buchnera abundance, especially in aphids reared on a Lys- or Met-deficient diet. Arsenophonus coexisted with Buchnera in bacteriocytes, which strengthens the interaction. IMPORTANCE The obligate symbiont Buchnera can synthesize amino acids for aphids. In this study, we found that a facultative symbiont, Arsenophonus, can help improve aphids’ growth performance under amino acid deficiency stress by changing the relative abundance of Buchnera and the expression levels of amino acid synthase genes. This study highlights the interaction between Arsenophonus and Buchnera to ameliorate aphid growth under amino acid stress.

Objective To report 2 pedigrees of early⁃onset familial Alzheimer's disease (EOFAD) caused by PSEN1 gene mutation, review previous studies and summarize the PSEN1 gene mutation sites, clinical presentation and genotype characteristics of EOFAD in China. Methods and Results The clinical data of 2 pedigrees with EOFAD from Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University were collected. Genomic DNA from peripheral venous blood of the proband was screened. Search the reported Chinese cases of EOFAD caused by PSEN1 gene mutation. In the Case 1 family, there were 3 members with memory loss, including the proband, onset at the age of 45. His head MRI showed mild atrophy of the cerebral cortex and bilateral hippocampus. A c.488A＞G (p.His163Arg) pathogenic mutation in the exon 6 of PSEN1 gene was found, proving the diagnosis. In the Case 2 family, there were 6 members with memory and working competence loss, including the proband, onset at the age of 42. Head MRI showed whole cerebral cortical atrophy and bilateral hippocampal atrophy, obviously on the left side. A c.344A＞G (p.Tyr115Cys) pathogenic mutation in the exon 5 of PSEN1 gene was found, proving the diagnosis. A total of 40 cases (including this 2 cases) of EOFAD patients caused by PSEN1 gene mutation in China were enrolled. Thirty⁃eight pathogenic mutation sites were reported. The age of onset ranged from 21 to 62 years old, and the course of disease ranged from 4 to 10 years. About 87.50% (35/40) of the patients' onset manifestation was progressive memory loss and then rapidly with multiple cognitive domains involved. Some patients manifested with extrapyramidal symptoms, epilepsy or ear symptoms. Conclusions c.488A＞G and c.344A＞G mutations in the PSEN1 gene were identified to cause EOFAD, and c.344A＞G mutation is the first report in China. EOFAD occurs early and progresses rapidly, and sometimes the initial symptoms may be atypical. Therefore, gene detection plays an important role in the diagnosis of the disease.

Advances in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in cancer have significantly increased the survival of cancer patients, which causes cancer itself and its treatment related sequelae and side effects appearing in their later life. Patients with cancer before, during and even many years after completion of therapies can exhibit cognitive impairment, negatively affecting cancer survivors' quality of life and functional independence. Internationally, patients with cancer complaining cognitive symptoms due to the disease itself and/or its therapy are called cancer⁃related cognitive impairment (CRCI). However, many aspects of the association between cancer and cognitive impairment remain uncertain. The definitive connection between systemic cancer and central nervous system is yet to be established. Therefore, this review summarizes the current evidence on potential pathophysiology in these patients with CRCI, emphasizing knowledge gaps and the potential strategies to address them.

Diphenyldiphenylethynylsilane monomer (DPDPES) was synthesized with ethyl bromide, diphenyldichlorosilane and phenylacetylene by Grignard reaction. The molecular structure was characterized by FTIR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The polymer of polydiphenyl(diphenylethynyl)silane (PDPDPES) was also prepared by thermal polymerization. Non-isothermal thermal decomposition process of PDPDPES was studied with TG-DTG technology via model method to get thermal decomposition function and the corresponding mechanism which was further verified by model-free method. Results show that the apparent activation energy and the pre-exponential factor are about Ea=245.37kJ/mol and lgA=13.78s-1 obtained by six different kinetic methods, respectively. The mechanism of functions are f(α)= 10/23 ·(1-α)·[-ln(1-α)]-1.3 and g(α)=[-ln(1-α)]2.3。

In order to improve the transportation effect of the autonomous transportation logistics system, this paper combines the Internet of Things and blockchain technology to construct an intelligent logistics system, and establishes the principle of deterministic deviation compensation based on the two-point method. Moreover, this paper calculates two deterministic deviations through the known coordinates of the starting and ending points and compensates them into the heading angle and pitch angle measured by the inertial navigation system respectively. Further, this paper uses the basic formula of dead reckoning to calculate the trajectory after compensation to achieve the effect of improving positioning accuracy. Finally, this paper constructs an autonomous transportation intelligent logistics system based on the Internet of Things and blockchain technology. The experimental research results show that the simulation effect of the autonomous transportation intelligent logistics system based on the Internet of Things and blockchain technology is very good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The average content of uranium in sandstone-type uranium deposits is 635 μg/g, whereas the content of rhenium is 0.3-1.9 μg/g. Because of low rhenium content, now precise determination of low Re in high U ores remains unresolved. In this study, a method for the determination of trace Re in sandstone-type uranium deposits by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry was developed. Samples were digested by MgO sintering, and were then extracted by hot water. 103Rh was used as the internal standard element to eliminate the interferences of uranium, molybdenum and other matrix elements on Re. Under optimum conditions, the detection limit of trace rhenium is 0.12 ng/g, and the recovery is 99.8%. The method was validated by a variety of standard samples, the measured Re contents are in good agreement with the standard values. The relative standard deviation (RSD) is less than 1.5% for Re contents of 0.06-180.57 μg/g, which meets the requirement of determining trace Re in high U ores from sandstone type uranium deposits.

Experiments of continuous and directional solidification of titanium alloy slabs were performed using authors-designed multi-function directional solidification apparatus with rectangular cold crucible. Influences of processing parameters on the surface qualities of the solidified slabs were studied. It is shown that the slab surface qualities can be effectively improved with increasing of the turns in coil and input power, and with decreasing of withdrawal velocity and relatively low position of pedestal to the induction coil. The influences of the processing parameters in the descending order are as follows: the turns in coil, input power, withdrawal velocity and the relative position of pedestal. With optimized parameters, quality slabs free from cracks and ripples were obtained. The solidified structure with good surface quality shows directionally solidified structure.