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Feed consumption represents a major cost in poultry production and improving feed efficiency is one of the important goals in breeding strategies. The present study aimed to analyze the relationship between feed efficiency and relevant traits and find the proper selection method for improving feed efficiency by using the Northeast Agricultural University High and Low Fat broiler lines that were divergently selected for abdominal fat content. A total of 899 birds were used to measure the feed intake (FI), abdominal fat weight (AFW), and body weight traits. The abdominal fat percentage (AFP), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and the residual feed intake (RFI) were calculated for each individual broiler. The differences in the AFW, AFP, and in traits relevant to feed efficiency, such as FCR and RFI, between the fat line and the lean line were analyzed, and the genetic parameters were estimated for AFW, AFP, and feed efficiency relevant traits. The results showed that AFW, AFP, body weight gain (BWG), FI, FCR, and RFI were significantly higher in the fat line compared with the lean line. The heritability of FI, BWG, FCR, RFI, AFW, and AFP were 0.45, 0.28, 0.36, 0.38, 0.33, and 0.30, respectively. Both FCR and RFI showed high positive genetic correlations with FI, AFW, and AFP and relatively low, negative genetic correlations with BWG. The RFI showed much higher positive genetic correlation with the abdominal fat traits than FCR. In addition, the FCR showed negative genetic correlation with body weight of 4 wk (BW4) and 7 wk (BW7), whereas RFI showed positive genetic correlation with BW4 and BW7. The results showed that both RFI and FCR could be used for improving feed efficiency. When selecting against RFI, the AFP could be significantly reduced, and by selecting against FCR, the body weight could be improved simultaneously.

Introduction Control status may be a useful tool to assess response to treatment at each clinical visit in COPD. Control status has demonstrated to have long-term predictive value for exacerbations, but there is no information about the short-term predictive value of the lack of control and changes in control status over time. Method Prospective, international, multicenter study aimed at describing the short-term (6 months) prognostic value of control status in patients with COPD. Patients with COPD were classified as controlled/uncontrolled at baseline and at 3,6-month follow-up visits using previously validated criteria of control. Moderate and severe exacerbation rates were compared between controlled and uncontrolled visits and between patients persistently controlled, uncontrolled and those changing control status over follow-up. Results A total of 267 patients were analyzed: 80 (29.8%) were persistently controlled, 43 (16%) persistently uncontrolled and 144 (53.7%) changed control status during follow-up. Persistently controlled patients were more frequently men, with lower (not increased) body mass index and higher FEV1(%). During the 6 months following an uncontrolled patient visit the odds ratio (OR) for presenting a moderate exacerbation was 3.41 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.47–4.69) and OR = 4.25 (95%CI 2.48–7.27) for hospitalization compared with a controlled patient visit. Conclusions Evaluation of control status at each clinical visit provides relevant prognostic information about the risk of exacerbation in the next 6 months. Lack of control is a warning signal that should prompt investigation and action in order to achieve control status.

The generation of transgenic chickens is of both biomedical and agricultural significance, and recently chicken transgenesis technology has been greatly advanced. However, major issues still exist in the efficient production of transgenic chickens. This study was designed to optimize the production of enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP)-transgenic broilers, including egg windowing at the blunt end (air cell) of egg, and the direct transfection of circulating primordial germ cells by microinjection of the Tol2 plasmid-liposome complex into the early embryonic dorsal aorta. For egg windowing, we discovered that proper manipulation of the inner shell membrane at the blunt end could improve the rate of producing G0 transgenic roosters. From 27 G0 roosters, we successfully collected semen with EGFP-positive sperms from 16 and 19 roosters after direct fluorescence observation and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses (13 detected by both methods), respectively. After artificial insemination using the G0 rooster with the highest number of EGFP fluorescent sperm, one G1 EGFP transgenic broiler (1/81, 1.23%) was generated. Our results indicate that appropriate egg windowing and screening of potentially transgene-positive roosters can improve the production of germline-transmitted transgenic birds.

Summary Decades of artificial selection have significantly improved performance and efficiency of animal production systems. However, little is known about the microevolution of genomes due to intensive breeding. Using whole-genome sequencing, we document dynamic changes of chicken genomes under divergent selection on adiposity over 19 generations. Directional selection reduced within-line but increased between-line genomic differences. We observed that artificial selection tended to result in recruitment of preexisting variations of genes related to adipose tissue growth. In addition, novel mutations contributed to divergence of phenotypes under selection but contributed significantly less than preexisting genomic variants. Integration of 15 generations genome sequencing, genome-wide association study, and multi-omics data further identified that genes involved in signaling pathways important to adipogenesis, such as autophagy and lysosome (URI1, MBL2), neural system (CHAT), and endocrine (PCSK1) pathways, were under strong selection. Our study provides insights into the microevolutionary dynamics of domestic animal genomes under artificial selection., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • Directional selection reduces within-line but increases between-line genomic difference • Artificial selection tends to recruit preexisting variations of genes for fatness • Novel mutations contribute to the divergence of fatness under artificial selection • Genes involved in signaling pathways important to adipogenesis are under selection, Biological Sciences; Evolutionary Biology; Genetics; Genomics

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been shown to predict the coupling of depression and inflammation in adulthood. Trust within intimate relationships, a core element in marital relations, has been shown to predict positive physical and mental health outcomes, but the mediating role of trust in partners in the association between CSA and inflammation in adulthood requires further study. The present study aimed to examine the impact of CSA on inflammatory biomarkers (IL-6 and IL-1β) in adults with depression and the mediating role of trust. A cross-sectional survey data set of adults presenting with mood and sleep disturbance was used in the analysis. CSA demonstrated a significant negative correlation with IL-6 level (r = -0.28, p

Background. Stagnation syndrome, a diagnostic entity in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is characterized by mind-body obstruction-like symptoms. Although TCM has long-established symptom-relief treatments, a comprehensive mind-body intervention was called for. Purpose. The study evaluated the efficacy of a six-session body-mind-spirit (BMS) group therapy for persons with stagnation syndrome. Method. A 2-arm randomized controlled trial design was adopted. The control group received a parallel general TCM instruction course. Both groups completed a pretest (T0), posttest (T1), and 2-month follow-up assessment (T2). The measures included self-report scales on stagnation, depression, anxiety, physical distress, daily functioning, and positive and negative affect; the other measure was of salivary cortisol, a biological marker of stress. Results. Data on 111 adults with stagnation syndrome were included in the analysis. Completion rates were high (over 87%) for both the intervention and control groups. Repeated-measures multivariate MANOVA revealed a significant combined effect with large effect size (eta-squared = 0.42). Repeated-measures ANOVA further revealed that the intervention group showed significant improvements in stagnation, the primary outcome, with medium effect size (eta-squared = 0.11). The intervention group also showed significant improvements in depression, physical distress, everyday functioning, and negative affect (eta-squared = 0.06 to 0.13). Post hoc analysis revealed that the intervention group showed significant improvements over the control group in cortisol level at 2-month follow-up assessment (T0 versus T2) with small effect size (eta-squared = 0.05), but not at posttest (T0 versus T1). Conclusions. Overall, the findings indicate that our brief BMS group therapy intervention for stagnation syndrome is efficacious. Moreover, the intervention resulted in a number of substantial improvements in the physical and mental health domains.

Genetic selection for meat production performance of broilers concomitantly causes excessive abdominal fat deposition, accompanied by several adverse effects, such as the reduction of feed conversion efficiency and reproduction performance. Our previous studies have identified important genes regulating chicken fat deposition, using the Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content (NEAUHLF) as an animal model. However, the molecular mechanism underlying fat deposition differences between fat and lean broilers remains largely unknown. Here, we integrated the transcriptome (RNA-Seq) and quantitative proteome (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation, iTRAQ) profiling analyses on abdominal fat tissues from NEAUHLF chicken lines. Differentially expressed genes (2167 DEGs, corrected p-value 0.01) and differentially abundant proteins (199 DAPs, corrected p-value 0.05) were identified in lean line compared to fat line. Down-regulated DEGs and DAPs mainly enriched in pathways related to fatty acid metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and PPAR signaling, and interestingly, up-regulated DEGs and DAPs enriched both in lysosome pathway. Moreover, numerous key DEGs and DAPs involved in long-chain fatty acid uptake, in situ lipogenesis (fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis), and lipid droplet accumulation were discovered after integrated transcriptome and proteome analysis. SIGNIFICANCE: Excessive abdominal fat deposition critically affects the health of broilers and causes economic loss to broiler producers, but the molecular mechanism of abdominal fat deposition is still unclear in chicken. We identified key DEGs/DAPs and potential pathways through an integration of chicken abdominal fat tissues transcriptome and proteome analyses. Our findings will facilitate a better revealing the mechanism and provide a novel insight into abdominal fat content discrepancy between the fat and lean chicken lines.

Cisplatin resistance is still one of the main reasons for failure of clinical therapy for cervical cancer. But the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in cisplatin resistance of cervical cancer have still remained unclear. Recent studies reported that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are novel nonprotein-coding transcripts, which might play a key role in cancer biogenesis and prognosis. One of the lncRNAs, urothelial cancer associated 1 (UCA1), has been shown to promote different types of cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. This study showed that overexpression of UCA1 confers cisplatin resistance by promoting cancer cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. In addition, knockdown of UCA1 remarkably decreased cisplatin resistance in cervical cancer cells. Moreover, results also indicated that UCA1 was involved in signaling pathways modulating cell apoptosis and proliferation. UCA1 suppressed apoptosis by downregulating caspase 3 and upregulating CDK2, whereas enhanced cell proliferation by increased level of survivin and decreased level of p21. This study reports for the first time that UCA1 might play an important role in the cisplatin resistance in cervical cancer, and also explain partially how UCA1 promotes cisplatin resistance in cancer cells. These results provide evidence to support that UCA1 can be used as a potential target for a novel therapeutic strategy for cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: A burgeoning literature has found relationships between telomere length, telomerase activity, and human health and longevity. Although some research links a history of childhood adversity with shortened telomere length, our review found no prior research on the relationship between child maltreatment history and telomerase activity in adulthood. We hypothesized a negative relationship between child maltreatment and telomerase activity and hypothesized that the association would be moderated by sex. METHODS: These relationships were tested on a sample of 262 Hong Kong Chinese adults (200 females versus 62 males) with mild to moderate depression. RESULTS: Counterintuitively, emotional abuse was positively associated with telomerase activity, while other maltreatment types were non-significant. The positive relationship between emotional abuse and telomerase activity was significantly moderated by the sex of the participant. CONCLUSIONS: We advance two possible explanations for this finding (1) a culturally informed resilience explanation and (2) a homeostatic complexity explanation. The two explanations are not mutually exclusive. This trial is registered under Hong Kong Clinical Trial Register number HKCTR-1929. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Emotional abuse was significantly positively associated with telomerase activity. There are at least two non-mutually exclusive explanations for the findings. Simply put, either (1) in the cultural context of Hong Kong emotional abuse was not a risk factor, and/or (2) the conceptualization of telomerase activity as a straightforward indicator of longevity is overly simplistic. The first story we might term a “resilience explanation” while the second we might call a “homeostatic complexity” story.

The authors investigated sociodemographic predictors of the mental health status of college students (N = 308) in Guam. Results indicated prevalence rates of 17.8%, 40.2%, and 25.6% for moderate or more severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Psychological distress was found to be predicted by gender, ethnicity, living arrangement, and academic level. Comparisons with college students in the U.S. mainland and Hong Kong were also examined. Implications for counseling services and strategies are discussed.

A genome-wide association study has shown a number of chicken (Gallus gallus) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to be significantly associated with abdominal fat content in Northeast Agricultural University (NEAU) broiler lines selected divergently for abdominal fat content (NEAUHLF). The six significant SNPs are located in the kinase insert domain receptor (KDR), tumor suppressor candidate 3 (TUSC3), phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase (PPAT), exocyst complex component 1 (EXOC1), v-myb myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog (avian)-like 2 (MYBL2) and KIAA1211 (undefined) genes. In this study, the expression levels of these genes were investigated in both abdominal fat and liver tissues using 32 14th generation chickens from the NEAUHLF. The levels of expression of KDR in abdominal fat and KDR and TUSC3 in liver differed significantly between the two lines. The expression level of KDR in the abdominal fat was significantly correlated with the abdominal fat weight (AFW) and abdominal fat percentage (AFP). The expression levels of KDR, TUSC3 and PPAT in liver were significantly correlated with AFW and AFP, indicating that the six genes, especially KDR and TUSC3, could be associated with fat traits in domestic chickens. This study could provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the formation of abdominal fat in chickens.

Introduction: Asthma mortality in Singapore is high despite moderate asthma prevalence and having a modern, well-resourced healthcare system. Aim: To perform a national audit of severe life-threatening asthma (SLTA) in Singapore and identify gaps in care. Methods: Review of SLTA cases in 4 public hospitals in Singapore between 2011-2015. SLTA was defined as exacerbation requiring mechanical ventilation or intensive care unit/high dependency admission. “Adverse outcomes” (AO) was defined as death, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy or respiratory arrest. Results: 340 patients accounted for 384 SLTA events, age 55±18y, 56% female and 28.4% had history of SLTA. AO occurred in 59 (15.4%). There was a high proportion of current smokers (22.9%) compared to national smoking rate of 13.3%. Prior to the index SLTA, 17.1% had no regular asthma follow-up, and 32.1% were not on inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) i.e. Step 1 of GINA. The proportion of patients on Step 1 GINA was most prevalent in those not on regular follow-up (79.3%) and those followed-up with private GPs (56.6%) or private pulmonologists (40.0%), and least in patients on follow-up with polyclinic (16.7%) or restructured hospitals (4.6%) (p Conclusion: We identified underuse of ICS and spirometry, lack of regular-follow-up, and high defaulter and smoking rates as gaps in care and potential future areas of intervention among SLTA cases in Singapore.

Background Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease that affects an estimated 3% of the world's population. PSORI-CM02 is an empirically developed Chinese medicine formula optimised from Yin Xie Ling, summarised by national medical master Guo-Wei Xuan, that has been used for decades to treat psoriasis in the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine. However, its anti-psoriatic mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, we explored the effects of PSORI-CM02 on autophagy and the underlying mechanisms in TNF-α–stimulated HaCaT cells and in a mouse model of imiquimod-induced psoriasis. Methods Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. Apoptosis was detected by annexin V–FITC/PI double-staining and caspase-3 assays. Autophagy was detected by electron microscopy, RT-PCR and western blotting. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway was analysed by western blotting and immunochemical analysis. Results PSORI-CM02 induced autophagy and thus inhibited the proliferation of HaCaT cells via suppression of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. In mice with IMQ-induced psoriasis, PSORI-CM02 relieved psoriasis symptoms, induced autophagy and inhibited the phosphorylation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in the skin. Conclusion These results suggest that PSORI-CM02 treats psoriasis by inducing autophagy via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

Stagnation syndrome, a diagnostic entity in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been long regarded as the TCM counterpart of major depression in Western medicine. The study investigated the prevalence of major depression among stagnation syndrome patients and evaluated their well-being and functioning outcomes. In total, 117 patients diagnosed with stagnation syndrome were measured using Stagnation Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Body-Mind-Spirit Well-Being Inventory. Results indicate major depression among stagnation syndrome patients was characterized by a high co-occurrence rate and worse physical, mental, and functional outcomes. More than one-quarter (26.5%) of the patients met the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for major depression and over half (53%) exceeded the PHQ-9 cutoff (score above 10) for moderate/severe depression symptoms. The wellness of the stagnation syndrome patients was worse (M = 298.2, SD = 66.5) than that of the general population (M = 360.9, SD = 79.9), with a large Cohen’s d value of 0.9. The “wellness outlook” of the depressed stagnation syndrome patients appeared grimmer (M = 252.3, SD = 52.2). The correlation between stagnation and depression was higher for affective symptoms than somatic symptoms. Physical distress did not mediate the relationship between stagnation and daily functioning. These might suggest that stagnation syndrome and major depression may share some similar psychological mechanisms.

Retirement is a major life transition that often leads to maladjustments and mental health hazards. In this study, we developed an innovative retirement preparation program, the Active Interest Mentorship Scheme (AIMS), which utilized active interest development as a positive entry point through which to engage soon-to-retire people. Each retiree received a 1-year mentorship 6 months before retirement. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, the study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the AIMS in protecting retirees’ well-being. The well-being status of 161 retirees was assessed at 4-month intervals. Measures included self-esteem, life satisfaction, positive affect, depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Serial trend analysis revealed a general improvement in well-being at 4 months after mentorship, followed by a mark reversion in some variables at 2 months after retirement. Upon completion of the program, participants generally returned to a level of well-being that was comparable with or better than preretirement levels. The first 2 months after retirement appeared to be the most distressing. The findings support the efficacy, as well as feasibility of the innovative retirement preparation program.

Chicken preadipocytes cultured in cocktail supplement with rosiglitazone resulted in a marked increase in lipid droplet accumulation, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity and mRNA expression of adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (aP2), G0/G1 switch gene 2 (G0S2), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and lipolysis. The present study provides a novel induction method for in vitro chicken preadipocyte differentiation., The preadipocyte differentiation biological process involves a cascade of transcriptional events that culminates in the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ. The differentiation cocktail [insulin (INS), dexamethasone (DEX) and isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX)] can induce preadipocyte differentiation in mammals, but it is insufficient for chicken (Gallus gallus) adipogenesis. Oleate can induce chicken preadipocyte differentiation, but these differentiated preadipocytes may not be fully functional. The objective of the current study was to evaluate whether chicken preadipocytes can be induced to mature adipocytes by a novel induction method using differentiation cocktail supplemented with PPARγ agonist(s). Chicken preadipocytes cultured in cocktail supplemented with rosiglitazone or troglitazone resulted in a marked increase in lipid droplet accumulation (P

Excessive abdominal fat content (AFC) has negative impacts on feed efficiency and carcass quality. Unlike AFC, intramuscular fat content (IMFC) could be a favourable trait, which has a positive impact on meat quality. To meet consumers' needs, a long-term goal of broiler breeders is to decrease AFC and improve the IMFC simultaneously. The current study was designed to investigate the relationship between AFC and IMFC and to compare IMFC, including the pectoral major muscle fat content (PIMFC) and intramuscular fat content of leg muscle (LIMFC), between two broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat percentage over 17 generations. The results showed that there was a significant difference in PIMFC and LIMFC between the two lines in all five generation populations used. The birds in the lean line had significantly lower AFC but higher PIMFC and LIMFC than the birds in the fat line. We also detected differences in the liver fat content (LFC) between the two lines and the results showed that birds in the fat line had significant higher LFC than birds in the lean line. Our results indicated that a desirable broiler line with higher IMFC but lower AFC could be obtained by genetic selection.

The objectives of the present study were to characterize the tissue expression of chicken (Gallus gallus) bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) and compare differences in its expression in abdominal fat tissue and serum between fat and lean birds and to determine a potential relationship between the expression of BMP4 and abdominal fat tissue growth and development. The results showed that chicken BMP4 messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein were expressed in various tissues, and the expression levels of BMP4 transcript and protein were relatively higher in adipose tissues. In addition, the mRNA and protein expression levels of BMP4 in abdominal fat tissue of fat males were lower than those of lean males at 1, 2, 5, and 7 wk of age (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the serum BMP4 content of fat males was lower than that of lean males at 7 wk of age (P < 0.05). BMP4 mRNA expression levels were significantly higher in preadipocytes than those in mature adipocytes (P < 0.05), and the expression level decreased during differentiation in vitro (P < 0.05). These results suggested that chicken BMP4 might affect abdominal fat deposition through differences in its expression level. The results of this study will provide basic molecular information for studying the role of BMP4 in the regulation of adipogenesis in avian species.

Background The gastrointestinal tract is populated by a complex and vast microbial network, with a composition that reflects the relationships of the symbiosis, co-metabolism, and co-evolution of these microorganisms with their host. The mechanism that underlies such interactions between the genetics of the host and gut microbiota remains elusive. Results To understand how genetic variation of the host shapes the gut microbiota and interacts with it to affect the metabolic phenotype of the host, we compared the abundance of microbial taxa and their functional performance between two lines of chickens (fat and lean) that had undergone long-term divergent selection for abdominal fat pad weight, which resulted in a 4.5-fold increase in the fat line compared to the lean line. Our analysis revealed that the proportions of Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria differed significantly between the two lines (8 vs. 18% and 33 vs. 24%, respectively) at the phylum level. Eight bacterial genera and 11 species were also substantially influenced by the host genotype. Differences between the two lines in the frequency of host alleles at loci that influence accumulation of abdominal fat were associated with differences in the abundance and composition of the gut microbiota. Moreover, microbial genome functional analysis showed that the gut microbiota was involved in pathways that are associated with fat metabolism such as lipid and glycan biosynthesis, as well as amino acid and energy metabolism. Interestingly, citrate cycle and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathways that play important roles in lipid storage and metabolism were more prevalent in the fat line than in the lean line. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that long-term divergent selection not only alters the composition of the gut microbiota, but also influences its functional performance by enriching its relative abundance in microbial taxa. These results support the hypothesis that the host and gut microbiota interact at the genetic level and that these interactions result in their co-evolution. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12711-016-0270-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.