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Objective The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis is essential for the body’s metabolism. The hepatokine, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2), acts as a major regulator of this metabolism. We aimed to evaluate the role of serum IGFBP-2 in the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods This hospital-based prospective cohort study recruited residents from a health program from January to November 2013, and re-invited them for follow-up in 2016. The occurrence of NAFLD was noted and IGFBP-2 levels were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at both visits. Results Of 763 participants at baseline, 296 completed the re-evaluation. Baseline serum IGFBP-2 levels were significantly lower in subjects with NAFLD compared with those without NAFLD. Circulating IGFBP-2 levels were negatively correlated with body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, alanine transaminase, triglycerides, fasting glucose, and insulin. IGFBP-2 levels at follow-up decreased in subjects who developed NAFLD compared with those who did not. Higher circulating levels of IGFBP-2 at baseline were negatively associated with the incidence of NAFLD. Conclusion These results indicate that IGFBP-2 levels are inversely associated with the risk of NAFLD. This offers new insights into the role of circulating IGFBP-2, as an IGF-axis hepatokine, in the pathogenesis of hepatic steatosis.

The DHA/EPA enriched ethanolamine plasmalogens (EPA-PlsEtn) are widely present in seafood, and EPA-PlsEtn exhibits unique effects on improving cognitive functions. However, there were no reports on the alleviation of dietary EPA-PlsEtn on atherosclerosis. In the present study, supplementation with EPA-PlsEtn for 8 weeks dramatically reduced atherosclerotic lesions by 78% and serum LDL-c levels by 73.9% compared with model group. EPA-PlsEtn possessed lowest hepatic cholesterol levels associated with increased bile acids synthesis and excretion into feces. EPA-PlsEtn increased CYP7A1 expression through suppressing FXR activation. The increased proportion of bile acid TMCA, FXR antagonist, might contribute to the increased bile acid synthesis. In conclusion, different with EPA in form of EE or PC, EPA-PlsEtn efficiently alleviated atherosclerosis via lowering cholesterol levels by suppressing FXR expression. These findings provided new evidence and thought to explain the unique bioactivity of EPA-PlsEtn and new sight to re-understand the structure-activities relationship of DHA/EPA.

Several earlier studies have attempted to estimate some of the thermodynamic properties of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) either very close to the Sun or at 1 AU. In the present study, we attempt to extrapolate the internal thermodynamic properties of 2010 April 3 flux rope CME from near the Sun to 1 AU. For this purpose, we use the flux rope internal state (FRIS) model which is constrained by the kinematics of the CME. The kinematics of the CME is estimated using the STEREO/COR and HI observations in combination with drag based model (DBM) of CME propagation. Using the FRIS model, we focus on estimating the polytropic index of the CME plasma, heating/cooling rate, entropy changing rate, Lorentz force and thermal pressure force acting inside the CME. Our study finds that the polytropic index of the selected CME ranges between 1.7 and 1.9. This implies that the CME is in the heat-releasing state (i.e., entropy loss) throughout its journey from the Sun to Earth. The hindering role of Lorentz force and contributing role of thermal pressure force in governing the expansion of the CME is also identified. On comparing the estimated properties of the CME flux rope from the FRIS model with the in situ observations of the CME taken at 1 AU, we find relevant discrepancies between the results predicted by the model and the observations. We outline the approximations made in our study of probing the internal state of the CME during its heliospheric evolution and discuss the possible causes of the observed discrepancies.

Fourier ptychography (FP) is a powerful phase retrieval method that can be used to reconstruct missing high-frequency details and high-space-bandwidth products in microscopy. In this study, we further advanced the application of FP in microscopic imaging to the field of macroscopic far-field imaging, incorporating camera scanning for spatial resolution improvement. First, on the basis of the Fraunhofer diffraction mechanism and the transmission imaging model, we found the analysis of the associated theoretical fundamentals via simulations and experiments to be crucially relevant to the far-field of FP imaging. Second, we built an experimental device with long-distance imaging and experimentally demonstrated the relationship between the spectrum overlap ratio and the reconstructed high-resolution image. The simulation and experimental results showed that an overlap ratio higher than 50% had a good reconstruction effect. Third, camera scanning was used to obtain low-resolution intensity images in this study, for which the scanning range was wide and spherical wave illumination was satisfied, and therefore different positions corresponded to different aberrations of low-resolution intensity images, and even different positions of the same image had aberration differences, leading to inconsistencies in the aberrations of different images. Therefore, in the reconstruction process, we further overcame the effect of the inconsistency of aberrations of different images using the partition reconstruction method, which involves cutting the image into smaller parts for reconstruction. Finally, with the proposed partition reconstruction algorithm, we were able to resolve 40 μm line width of GBA1 resolution object and obtain a spatial resolution gain of 4× with a working distance of 2 m.

Semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is considered an excellent candidate for power amplification at O-band due to its low cost and small footprint. In passive optical networks (PONs), SOA is popular as a booster and pre-amplifier to improve the link power budget. However, whether as a booster or pre-amplifier, SOA will induce different degrees of nonlinearity when the output power is high, which degrades the transmission performance of the system and leads to a limited receiver dynamic range. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of using SOA in both transmitter and receiver sides for power budget improvement in 100 Gb/s/λ four-level pulsed amplitude modulation (PAM-4) time division multiplexed PON (TDM-PON) system at O-band. For compensating the linear and nonlinear impairments induced by transceivers and SOA, a look-up-table (LUT) pre-compensation at the optical line terminal (OLT) side and a simple feed-forward equalizer (FFE) at the optical network unit (ONU) side are adopted for downstream transmission. For upstream transmission, a 2nd-order Volterra nonlinear equalizer (VNLE) is utilized at the OLT side, and no pre-compensation is used at the transmitter of the ONU, which releases the digital signal processing (DSP) pressure of ONUs in a multi-user scenario. For the soft-decision FEC (SD-FEC) threshold (1 × 10−2), the IEEE PR-30 power budget requirement is met, and >18 dB dynamic range is achieved in both 25 km downstream and upstream transmission.

Exohiss is a low-frequency structureless whistler-mode emission potentially contributing to the precipitation loss of radiation belt electrons outside the plasmasphere. Exohiss is usually considered the plasmaspheric hiss leaked out of the dayside plasmapause. However, the evolution of exohiss after the leakage has not been fully understood. Here we report the prompt enhancements of exohiss waves following substorm injections observed by Van Allen Probes. Within several minutes, the energetic electron fluxes around 100 keV were enhanced by up to 5 times, accompanied by an up to 10-time increase of the exohiss wave power. These substorm-injected electrons are shown to produce a new peak of linear growth rate in the exohiss band (< 0.1fce). The corresponding path-integrated growth rate of wave power within 10° latitude of the magnetic equatorial plane can reach 13.4, approximately explaining the observed enhancement of exohiss waves. These observations and simulations suggest that the substorm-injected energetic electrons could amplify the preexisting exohiss waves.

Metastasis is the most important feature of gastric cancer (GC) and the most widely recognized reason for GC-related deaths. Unfortunately, the underlying mechanism behind this metastasis remains unknown. Mounting evidence suggests the dynamic regulatory role of sirtuin2 (SIRT2), a histone deacetylase (HDAC), in cell migration and invasion. The present study aims to evaluate the biological function of SIRT2 in GC and identify the target of SIRT2 as well as evaluate its therapeutic efficacy. We found that SIRT2 was upregulated in GC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues, and this was correlated with reduced patient survival. Although CCK8 and colony-formation assays showed that SIRT2 overexpression marginally promoted proliferation in GC cell lines, SIRT2 knockdown or treatment with SirReal2 decreased the migration and invasion of GC cells. We demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo that SirReal2 could inhibit the deacetylation activity of SIRT2 and its downstream target PEPCK1, which is related to mitochondrial metabolism and RAS/ERK/JNK/MMP-9 pathway. Taken together, these results demonstrate for the first time that SirReal2 selectively targets SIRT2 and decreases migration as well as invasion in human GC cells. SirReal2 therefore shows promise as a new drug candidate for GC therapy.

Abstract Recent years have witnessed the great advantages of reducing dietary crude protein (CP) with free amino acids (AA) supplementation for sustainable swine industry, including saving protein ingredients, reducing nitrogen excretion, feed costs and the risk of gut disorders without impairing growth performance compared to traditional diets. However, a tendency toward increased fatness is a matter of concern when pigs are fed low-protein (LP) diets. In response, the use of the net energy system and balanced AA for formulation of LP diets has been proposed as a solution. Moreover, the extent to which dietary CP can be reduced is complicated. Meanwhile, the requirements for the first five limiting AA (lysine, threonine, sulfur-containing AA, tryptophan, and valine) that growing-finishing pigs fed LP diets were higher than pigs fed traditional diets, because the need for nitrogen for endogenous synthesis of non-essential AA to support protein synthesis may be increased when dietary CP is lowered. Overall, to address these concerns and give a better understanding of this nutritional strategy, this paper reviews recent advances in the study of LP diets for swine and provides some insights into future research directions.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enriched phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylserine (PS) are important bioactive components and widely distributed in multifarious marine products. In the present study, we investigated the effects of DHA enriched phospholipids with different polar groups (DHA-PC and DHA-PS) on MPTP-induced PD mice by behavioral experiments including rotarod test and open field test as well as immunohistochemistry. Three DHA supplements all exhibited observable protective effects on PD symptoms of MPTP-induced mice and increased the number of dopaminergic neurons, especially DHA-PS had better improvement than DHA-TG and DHA-PC. Further analysis indicated that DHA additive pretreatment could inhibit apoptosis via mitochondria - mediated pathway and MAPK pathway, and thus protecting dopaminergic neurons in MPTP-induced mice. These results suggested that DHA enriched phospholipids with different polar groups exerted varying improvements on MPTP-induced PD mice, which represented a potential novel therapeutic candidate for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

The activities of geomagnetic storms are generally controlled by solar activities. The current solar cycle (SC) 24 is found to be mild; compared to SCs 19–23, the storm occurrence and size derived by averaging the occurrence number and Dst around the solar maximum are reduced by about 50–82% and 36–61%, respectively. We estimate separately, for SC 19 to 24, the repeat intervals between geomagnetic storms of specific Dst, based on fits of power-law and log-normal distributions to the storm data for each SC. Repeat intervals between super geomagnetic storms with Dst≤–250 nT are found to be 0.36–2.95 year(s) for SCs 19–23, but about 20 years based on the data for SC 24. We also estimate the repeat intervals between coronal mass ejections (CMEs) of specific speed (VCME) since CMEs are known to be the main drivers of intense storms and the related statistics may provide information about the potential occurrence of super geomagnetic storms from the location of the Sun. Our analysis finds that a CME with VCME≥1860 km/s may occur once per 3 and 5 months in SC 23 and 24, respectively. Based on a VCME-Dst relationship, such a fast CME may cause a storm with Dst=–250 nT if arriving at the Earth. By comparing the observed geomagnetic storms to storms expected to be caused by CMEs, we derive the probability of CME caused storms, which is dependent on VCME. For a CME faster than 1860 km/s, the probability of a CME caused storm with Dst≤–250 nT is about 1/5 for SC 23 or 1/25 for SC 24. All of the above results suggest that the likelihood of the occurrence of super geomagnetic storms is significantly reduced in a mild SC.

EPA enriched ethanolamine plasmalogens (EPA-pPE) are important bioactive components and widely distributed in multifarious marine products. In the present study, Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with APP751 and PS1 (CHO-APP/PS1 cells) and high-fat feeding SAMP8 mice were used to study the effects of EPA-pPE on Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The in vitro experiments showed that EPA-pPE exerted better effects than EPA-PE and Egg-PE in decreasing the intracellular and extracellular Aβ levels. EPA-pPE obviously improved learning and memory function of high-fat feeding SAMP8 mice by Morris maze test. Further mechanism research indicated that EPA-pPE could significantly improve cognition of Alzheimer’s disease by suppressing β-amyloid generation via reducing levels of APP and altering APP cleavage, thereby inhibiting oxidative stress, hyper-phosphorylated tau, neuro-inflammation and apoptosis. These results suggested that EPA-pPE might be applied as food supplements and/or functional ingredients to relieve neurodegenerative disease.

The effects of curdlan (2%, 3% and 4%) on the gel properties of Alaska surimi using high-temperature treatment were examined in this study. Curdlan treatment improved the gel strength of surimi in a concentration-dependent manner. Based on the results of dynamic rheology and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), curdlan promoted the stability of proteins in the gel. Moreover, curdlan facilitated the interaction between gel proteins and actomyosin, thereby preventing the aggregation and denaturation of protein and increased the thermal transition temperature. The results of scanning electron microscopy showed that the addition of curdlan induced the formation of a more ordered and denser gel matrix and the fibrils in the three-dimensional network became more delicate. Therefore, surimi samples with curdlan may hold more moisture and exhibit improved transfer of free water to bound water, leading to a higher water-holding capacity (WHC).

Abstract Two types of commercial WC-Ni samples were irradiated with the High-intensity pulsed ion beam (HIPIB). Both the surface characteristics and tribo-characteristics of the non-irradiated and irradiated WC-Ni samples, sliding against graphite under water lubrication, were compared. Quite low steady friction coefficients (approximately of 0.02) of the irradiated WC-Ni were observed. The surface topographies and components were investigated. The quite low friction of the irradiated WC-Ni samples was ascribed to the higher fluid retention capability of the latter and the tribofilm formed during sliding.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common neoplasms, and metastasis is the most important feature for HCC-related deaths. Mounting evidence implies the dynamic regulatory role of SIRT2, a histone deacetylase, in cancer cells. Unfortunately, the role of SIRT2 and the antitumor activity of its inhibition are not known in HCC. The present study aims to evaluate the biological function of SIRT2 in HCC and identify the target of SIRT2 as well as evaluate its therapeutic efficacy. We found that SIRT2 was upregulated in HCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues, and this was correlated with reduced patient survival. Although CCK8 and colony-formation assays showed that SIRT2 inhibiton marginally promotes proliferation in HCC cell lines, SIRT2 knockdown decreased the invasion of HCC cells. We demonstrated that downregulation of SIRT2 could inhibit its downstream target phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 and glutaminase, which is related to mitochondrial metabolism and the E-Cadherin pathway. These results demonstrate, for the first time that downregulation of SIRT2 decreases migration as well as invasion in human HCC cells, indicating that inhibiting SIRT2 may be an effective therapeutic strategy for treating HCC.

Increasingly, cities worldwide are striving for green travel and slow traffic, and vigorously developing people-oriented urban pedestrian traffic with sustainability has become a fixture in recent discourse. This paper comprehensively considers the sidewalk’s facilities environment and the status of pedestrian traffic flow; divides the urban pedestrian road system (UPRS) into five subsystems around the underpass, overpass, crosswalk, sidewalk, and road crosswalk; and introduces the basic structure as well as the function of each system. Then, the indicators are classified into two types of crosswalk facilities and sidewalk facilities, and a comprehensive pedestrian road indicator system with the combination of subjective and objective is established. Consequently, the integration of the fuzzy AHP and DEA-based symmetrical technique for the subjective evaluation indicator combined with pedestrian traffic characteristics is developed. A nine-step semantics scale of relative importance was used so that the symmetry of the response of pedestrian satisfaction was maintained. Fuzzy evaluation based on AHP is further modeled, and the DEA is employed to achieve an overall evaluation of the quality of service (QoS) for UPRS. The applicability of the established evaluation system is finally verified through a real case study in Harbin, China. The serviceability assessment method in this paper provides a new idea for planners to conduct sustainability evaluation for UPRS in future urban renewal development.

The P2Y receptor family is a class of G protein-coupled receptors activated primarily by adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), uridine triphosphate (UTP) and uridine diphosphate (UDP). The P2Y12 receptor is expressed on platelets which mediates platelet aggregation and morphological changes. At the same time, during the process of vascular remodeling and atherosclerosis, ADP can also promote the migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells through P2Y12 receptor activating. Furthermore, P2Y12 is involved in many signal transductions processes, such as intimal hyperplasia, monocyte infiltration and so on, which play an important role in immune inflammation and brain injury. In order to solve the diseases induced by P2Y12 receptor, inhibitors such as ticagrelor, clopidogrel were widely used for cardiovascular diseases. However, there were some problems, such as limited antithrombotic effect, remain unsolved. This article summarizes the role and molecular mechanism of P2Y12 receptors in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular-related diseases, providing in-depth expounding on the molecular mechanism of P2Y12 receptor inhibitors and contributing to the treatment of diseases based on P2Y12 receptors.

When a CME arrives at the Earth, it will interact with the magnetosphere, sometimes causing hazardous space weather events. Thus, the study of CMEs which arrived at Earth (hereinafter, Earth-impacting CMEs) has attracted much attention in the space weather and space physics communities. Previous results have suggested that the three-dimensional parameters of CMEs play a crucial role in deciding whether and when they reach Earth. In this work, we use observations from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) to study the three-dimensional parameters of 71 Earth-impacting CMEs from the middle of 2008 to the end of 2012. We find that the majority Earth-impacting CMEs originate from the region of [30S,30N] × [40E,40W] on the solar disk; Earth-impacting CMEs are more likely to have a central propagation angle (CPA) no larger than half-angular width, a negative correlation between velocity and acceleration, and propagation time is inversely related to velocity. Based on our findings, we develop an empirical statistical model to forecast the arrival time of the Earth-impacting CME. Also included is a comparison between our model and the aerodynamic drag model.

Under the same driving voltage and frequency, the forward and reverse motion inconsistency of stick-slip piezoelectric actuators would bring difficulty for subsequent control. To solve this problem, a rotation-structure based piezoelectric actuator with completely symmetric structure and two driving feet was initially proposed. By testing its output performances under various driving voltages and frequencies, it was confirmed that, although similar speeds could be achieved for forward and reverse motions, the maximum displacement and backward displacement in each step were still quite different. By analyzing the reasons leading to this difference, this actuator was further improved by using only one driving foot. The experimental results showed that the forward and reverse motion consistency of the improved actuator had been significantly improved. The deviation rate was only 1.6%, corresponding to a travel distance of 118.7 μm, obtained under the driving voltage of 100 V and driving frequency of 10 Hz. The comparison with some previously reported actuators further confirmed the advancement of this improved actuator.

Gut microorganisms participate in many physiological processes. In particular, Clostridium butyricum can modulate gut microorganisms and treat diseases. The colonization and persistence of strains in the gut contribute to beneficial effects, and the colonization by C. butyricum in the gut is currently unknown. We investigated the total intestinal contents of C. butyricum at 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, and four and six days using real-time reverse transcription-PCR, after oral administration of C. butyricum to rats for seven consecutive days. We assessed the bacterial community structure using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. The results showed that C. butyricum was mainly colonized in the colon. The total content of C. butyricum in the gut increased significantly at 12 h after administration. Exogenous C. butyricum could still be detected in the gut six days after administration. Administration of C. butyricum significantly enhanced gut microbial diversity. The relative abundance of short-chain fatty acid-producing bacterial genera was shown to be higher than that of the control group, and treatment with C. butyricum elevated Firmicutes and diminished Bacteroidetes phyla compared with to the control group. These findings laid the foundation for the study of probiotic colonization capacity and the improvement of microflora for the prevention of gut diseases.

Marine-derived peptide powders have suffered from adulteration via the substitution of lower-price peptides or the addition of adulterants in the market. This study aims to establish an effective approach for the discrimination and detection of adulterants for four representative categories of marine-derived peptide powders, namely, oyster peptides, sea cucumber peptides, Antarctic krill peptides, and fish skin peptides, based on amino acid profiling alongside chemometric analysis. The principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis results indicate that four categories of marine-derived peptides could be distinctly classified into four clusters and aggregated with the respective raw materials. Taurine, glycine, lysine, and protein contents were the major discriminants. A reliable classification model was constructed and validated by the prediction dataset, mixture sample dataset, and unclassified sample dataset with accuracy values of 100%, 100%, and 100%, respectively.

Solar eruptions provide opportunities to study magnetic flux ropes, a structure of fundamental importance for both plasma physics and space weather. Here the authors reveal the dynamic formation of a flux rope through its footprint on the solar surface, revealing a highly twisted core structure.

Abstract Background Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells transfer oxygen and nutrients from choroid to the neural retina. Reduced oxygen to RPE perturbs development and functions of blood vessels in retina. Previous efforts of genome-wide studies have been largely focused on transcriptional changes of cells in response to hypoxia. Recently developed ribosome profiling provides an opportunity to study genome-wide translational changes. To gain systemic insights into the transcriptional and translational regulation of cellular in response to hypoxic stress, we used simultaneous RNA sequencing and ribosome profiling on an RPE cells line, ARPE-19, under hypoxia condition. Results Both HIF-1α and EPAS1 (HIF-2α) proteins were stabilized in ARPE-19 under hypoxic stress treatment at 1 h, 2 h and 4 h. Analysis of simultaneous RNA sequencing and ribosome profiling data showed genome-wide gene expression changes at both transcriptional and translational levels. Comparative analysis of ribosome profiling and RNA-seq data revealed that hypoxia induced changes of more genes at the translational than the transcriptional levels. Ribosomes densities at 5′ untranslated region (UTR) significantly increased under hypoxic stress. Interestingly, the increase in ribosome densities at 5′ UTR is positively correlated with the presence of upstream open reading frames (uORFs) in the 5′ UTR of mRNAs. Conclusion Our results characterized translational profiles of mRNAs for a RPE cell line in response to hypoxia. In particular, uORFs play important roles in the regulation of translation efficiency by affecting ribosomes loading onto mRNAs. This study provides the first attempt to understand translational response of mammalian cells under hypoxic condition.

Gangliosides (GLSs), abundant in the mammalian brain, have been shown to affect neuronal plasticity and neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer’s disease. However, the biological activity and neuroprotective mechanism have not yet been established for sea urchin GLSs (SU-GLSs). Herein, we evaluated the neuroprotective effect of Strongylocentrotus nudus GM4(1S), GD4(1S), GD4(2A), and GD4(2G) in Aβ25-35-induced PC12 cells and in vivo using a GLSs mixture administered to SAMP8 mice. It was established that the pre-treatment of SU-GLSs decreased the loss of cell viability and the levels of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 in the hippocampus significantly, and relieved the cognitive deficiency of SAMP8 mice. Mechanistic studies found that SU-GLSs down regulated the expression of Bax, Caspase-3, and Caspase-9, while it upregulated the expression of Bcl-2, synaptophysin, and GAP-43 significantly. Thus, SU-GLSs promoted resistance to AD in a dose-dependent and structure-selective manner, probably via reducing the loss of neurites and blocking the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.

Dietary fish oil could prevent and treat atherosclerosis by improving lipid metabolism; in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE−/−) mice, it was ineffective at lowering serum lipid levels but still showed anti-atherosclerosis action. To date, no direct evidence has comparatively evaluated the effect of docosahexaenoic acid-enriched and eicosapentaenoic acid-enriched phospholipids (DHA-PL and EPA-PL) on atherosclerosis in apoE−/− mice. The present study suggested that both 1% dietary DHA-PL and EPA-PL could significantly reduce atherosclerotic lesions (37.4% and 53.4%, respectively) in high fat diet apoE−/− mice. EPA-PL significantly decreased serum and hepatic lipid levels, by mediating mRNA and protein levels of genes related to hepatic cholesterol metabolism, whereas DHA-PL was ineffective. In the suppression of aortic proinflammatory cytokines, DHA-PL was superior to EPA-PL at reducing TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β transcription. In conclusion, the action of DHA-PL was simply anti-inflammatory, and that of EPA-PL was mainly the improvement of lipid metabolism in the amelioration of atherosclerosis.

Abstract The effects of surface roughness characteristics on the fluid load capacity of tilt pad thrust bearings with water lubrication were studied by the average flow model. The flow factors utilized in the average flow model were simulated with various surface roughness parameters including skewness, kurtosis and the roughness directional pattern. The results indicated that the fluid load capacity was not only affected by the RMS roughness but also by the surface roughness characteristics. The fluid load capacity was dramatically affected by the roughness directional pattern. The skewness had a lower effect than the roughness directional pattern. The kurtosis had no notable effect on the fluid load capacity. It was possible for the fluid load capacity of the tilt pad thrust bearings to be improved by the skewness and roughness direction pattern control.

Abstract In this present work, we show that pouring water into the interface of SiC sliding against the same SiC material makes the friction coefficient far exceed that governing initial dry friction, and a subsequent load increase causes a dramatic abnormal friction force decrease. With the load further increasing to a critical value, friction force sharply increases again. The small amounts of water in the interface generates a large capillary force, the capillary bridges break to cause micro-separation of interface increase to allow bulk water to enter the friction interface, and a squeezing out of the water film to form a strong adhesion force between SiC-SiC materials, are considered to be responsible for the three stages, respectively.

Abstract Existing ISO segmented and continuous separation methods for differentiating the two components contained within a bi-Gaussian stratified surface were developed based on the fit of the probability material ratio curve. In the present study, because of the significant effect of the plateau component on tribological behavior such as asperity contact, wear and friction, a truncated separation method is proposed based on the truncation of the upper Gaussian component defined by zero skewness. The three separation methods are applied to real worn surfaces. Surface-separation and surface-reconstruction results show that the truncated method accurately captures the upper component identically to the ISO and continuous ones. The identification of the lower component characteristics requires performing a curve fit procedure on the data left after truncation. However, the truncated method fails in identifying the upper component when the material ratio of the transition is less than 9%.

Recent study demonstrated that dietary eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) could alleviate metabolism disorders. However, the onset time of EPA-enriched phospholipid (EPA-PL) on lipid metabolism was rarely been reported. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the time-dependent changes in lipid profile and genes of lipometabolism induced by EPA-PL from Cucumaria frondosa. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a standard diet with or without EPA-PL for 3, 7, or 14 days. Additionally, we examined gene expression 1 week after removing EPA-PL from the diet. Our results indicated that 3-day EPA-PL supplementation significantly increased the expression of genes related to β-oxidation (UCP2, Ehhadh, Acaa1) in the liver and epididymal adipose tissue, whereas no differences were observed in the mRNA expression of selected genes between groups 1 week after EPA-PL removal. It is concluded that EPA-PL served as a rapid regulator of fat burning and could be a functional food for obesity disorders.

Summary: Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by a deficiency in transcription-coupled subpathway of nucleotide excision DNA repair (TC-NER). Mutation of the Cockayne syndrome B (CSB) gene affects basal transcription, which is considered a major cause of CS neurologic dysfunction. Here, we generate a rat model by mimicking a nonsense mutation in the CSB gene. In contrast to that of the Csb−/− mouse models, the brains of the CSB-deficient rats are more profoundly affected. The cerebellar cortex shows significant atrophy and dysmyelination. Aberrant foliation of the cerebellum and deformed hippocampus are visible. The white matter displays high glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) staining indicative of reactive astrogliosis. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis reveals that CSB deficiency affects the expression of hundreds of genes, many of which are neuronal genes, suggesting that transcription dysregulation could contribute to the neurologic disease seen in the CSB rat models. : Xu et al. report a CRISPR/Cas9-edited rat displaying a nonsense mutation in the CSB gene, which can be used as an appropriate animal model for the DNA repair and neurodevelopment characteristics of Cockayne syndrome disease. Keywords: Cockayne syndrome rat model, neurodevelopmental disorder, CRISPR/Cas9, transcription dysregulation, CSB

Objective This study estimated the burden and characterised the risk factors associated with diabetes and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in an undiagnosed rural population.Design Data for 36 960 participants from the Henan Rural Cohort baseline with undiagnosed diabetes were analysed. X2 test and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to test for association between risk factors and diabetes and IFG.Results Women constituted 60.30% of the study participants, mean age of participants was 55.32±12.18 years, risk factors for diabetes and IFG were prevalent (75% dyslipidaemia, 57% overweight/obese, 50% central obesity and 18% metabolic syndrome). The prevalence of diabetes and IFG was 4.19% and 7.22%, respectively. Having a metabolic syndrome (adjusted OR (aOR) 4.7, 95% CI 4.27 to 5.33), dyslipidaemia (aOR 2.76, 95% CI 2.31 to 3.21), centrally obese (aOR 2.38, 95% CI 2.11 to 2.70), being overweight/obese (aOR 1.66, 95% CI 1.45 to 1.79) and a family history of diabetes (aOR 1.50, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.92) were associated with diabetes. These factors were also associated with IFG. Intake of high salt diet (aOR 1.16, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.32) and smoking (aOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.47; significant in men) were also associated with diabetes. Engaging in moderate physical activity (aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.98) was noted to be negatively associated with diabetes.Conclusion Diabetes and IFG remain prevalent in Chinese population with obesity and dyslipidaemia being some of the most significant predictors. Regular physical activity and consumption of fruits and vegetables may be beneficial in keeping blood glucose level low.Trial registration number ChiCTR-OOC-15006699

Natural microcin J25 (MccJ25) represent promising alternatives to traditional antibiotics for the treatment of drug-resistant infections. However, little is known about the antibacterial activity of recombinant MccJ25 against foodborne pathogens. Here, the activity of recombinant MccJ25 was examined using a matrix of conditions in order to assess the efficacy of recombinant MccJ25 as a mitigation against foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella species and Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. Results showed that recombinant MccJ25 displayed excellent antimicrobial activity against these foodborne pathogens, including clinical isolates of Salmonella and E. coli, as well as clinical antibiotic-resistant Salmonella and E. coli isolates with different minimal inhibitory concentrations. In addition, antimicrobial activity curves and Live/Dead assay evidenced that recombinant MccJ25 harbors strong bactericidal activity against Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7. Notably, recombinant MccJ25 also had great potency and induced fast mortality against different growth phase of Salmonella and E. coli. The stability analysis results showed that the activity of recombinant MccJ25 was not influenced by temperatures as high as 121°C. Varying the pH from 2.0 to 9.0 did not appear to affect the activity of recombinant MccJ25. Under the challenge of several proteases, simulated gastrointestinal fluids and serum, recombinant MccJ25 still maintained exceptionally strong antimicrobial activity. Significant reductions in Salmonella Pullorum levels were also achieved in food biological environments, such as milk, egg and meat. Moreover, we demonstrated that recombinant MccJ25 appeared to act by inducing membrane breaks, thinning, and disintegration in the Salmonella Pullorum cytoplasmic membrane. Taken together, these results indicated that recombinant MccJ25 could be an effective alternative for mitigating and prevention of Salmonella and E. coli infection in food, animal and agriculture applications.

Highly twisted magnetic flux ropes, with finite length, are subject to kink instabilities, and could lead to a number of eruptive phenomena in the solar atmosphere, including flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and coronal jets. The kink instability threshold, which is the maximum twist a kink-stable magnetic flux rope could contain, has been widely studied in analytical models and numerical simulations, but still needs to be examined by observations. In this article, we will study twists released by 30 off-limb rotational solar coronal jets, and compare the observational findings with theoretical kink instability thresholds. We have found that: (1) the number of events with more twist release becomes less; (2) each of the studied jets has released a twist number of at least 1.3 turns (a twist angle of 2.6π); and (3) the size of a jet is highly related to its twist pitch instead of twist number. Our results suggest that the kink instability threshold in the solar atmosphere should not be a constant. The found lower limit of twist number of 1.3 turns should be merely a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a finite solar magnetic flux rope to become kink unstable.

Tribological behavior of the Inconel X-750 alloy disk subjected to fretting against the GCr15 steel ball was investigated in an ambient laboratory air with relative humidity of 55–65%. A high-frequency oscillating Optimol SRV 4 tribometer was employed to execute dry fretting tests in the partial and gross slip regimes under constant 100 N normal load. Tests were carried out for 10, 30, and 90 minutes, and the friction forces vs. displacement amplitudes were monitored during the test duration. Posttest examinations were conducted utilizing advanced tools such as 3D optical surface profiler, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The main objective was to obtain wear scar evolutions, frictional properties, and degradation mechanisms under the different running conditions over time. It was found that fretting wear behaviors of friction pairs were strongly influenced by fretting regimes. Degradation evolutions were greatly influenced by fretting time during partial slip regimes, i.e., evolving from asperity deformation and slight damage to the fatigue crack and material transfer. However, the combination of adhesive, abrasive, delamination, and wear oxidation mechanisms was repeated during the entire gross slip fretting process.

Background. Patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) may present with motor disorders and various sensory disorders, among which pain and numbness are the most common ones. Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) is reported to be both safe and effective. However, most of the previous studies focused on the recovery of pain, and the relief extent of numbness and weakness has rarely been reported. The Sciatica Bothersomeness Index (SBI) is a self-assessment tool for LDH patients. It has demonstrated acceptable reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness. Objectives. Our aim was to explore the curative effect of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy and to compare the various extent of relief among pain, numbness, and weakness. Methods. The medical records of patients admitted for LDH from September 2016 to December 2018 were collected, and the patients were followed up for 3 months to evaluate the relief of their clinical symptoms. Preoperative and postoperative total scores and subitem scores of SBI were compared to evaluate the relief of pain, numbness, and weakness. Surgical outcomes of PELD were evaluated by the Nakai score, and patients were divided into two groups accordingly, which were the relief group (excellent and good in the Nakai score) and the less relief group (fair and poor in the Nakai score). Risk factors for PELD outcomes and preoperative presence of numbness and/or weakness were analyzed by the logistic model, and p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results. A total of 86 patients met the inclusion criteria and acquired 3 months follow-up. Relief extent of pain, numbness, and weakness, was 82%, 41%, and 21%, respectively. There were 71 cases in the relief group and 15 cases in the less relief group. Results of the logistic regression analysis showed that the preoperative pain score of SBI (p=0.002; OR: 1.647 (1.199–2.261)) was a relatively independent risk factor for PELD outcomes, and multiplicativity of duration of preoperative symptoms and imaging grade [p=0.004; OR: 1.015 (1.005–1.026)] was a relatively independent risk factor for preoperative presence of numbness and/or weakness. Conclusions. PELD had a good curative effect in the treatment of LDH. Patients of LDH recovered best from pain, followed by numbness and weakness after PELD. Higher level of patients self-reported preoperative pain indicated a better surgical outcome for LDH patients, and preoperative long duration of symptoms together with a severe compression of nerve root significantly increased the risk of presenting numbness and/or weakness.

Echinoside A (EA) and holothurin A (HA) are the major saponins found in sea cucumbers. Their pharmacokinetics were studied following intravenous and oral administration of saponin extracts in rats. The serum and liver of rat were pretreated by protein precipitation and performed on ENVI-18 SPE cartridges. The compounds were analyzed by using a high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) method in the single ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The results demonstrated that serum EA concentration rapidly reduced in 5 min after intravenous administration. HA serum concentration reduced to its lowest level after 1 h. After oral administration, EA reached its peaks at 3 h and 7 h. The first peak of HA occurred at 3 h and reached a second peak at 9 h. In the liver, there were two peaks for EA at 2 h and 9 h, and only one peak for HA at 9 h.

The n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential for brain and nervous system growth. The phospholipid forms of docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid (DHA/EPA-PL) produce remarkable benefits regarding brain development and neurological function. This study investigated the effects of different n-3 PUFA formulations on brain oxidative injury induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Administration of MPTP (30 mg/kg, i.p., 7 days) induced movement disorder and altered the oxidant–antioxidant status of the brain by reducing intracellular GSH levels and antioxidant enzyme activities, and increasing intracellular lipid peroxidation. In comparison to fish oil (DHA/EPA-TG) and algae oil (DHA-TG), pretreatment with DHA/EPA-PL was more effective in preventing nerve oxidative stress and attenuating motor abnormalities. The anti-apoptosis effect of DHA/EPA-PL was superior to DHA-TG. Additionally, DHA/EPA-PL distinctly reduced the phosphorylation of p38 and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). The results indicate that DHA/EPA-PL could offer an efficient strategy to explore novel functional food for neuroprotection.

Abundant studies have proven that the protective effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids enriched phospholipids (n-3 PUFA-PLs) mainly derived from fish roe and Antarctic krill have beneficial effects on cognition. However, the n-3 PUFA-PLs are usually a mixture of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enriched phospholipids. Hence, the effects of EPA-PLs alone on cognitive deficiency are still unclear. In the present study, we obtained almost pure EPA-PLs (EPA:DHA = 47.9:2.08) from the sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa, and investigated its effects on Aβ-induced cognitive impairment in rats. Administration of EPA-PLs (150 and 300 mg/kg⋅day, i.g., 27 days) did not increase brain DHA but significantly improved Aβ-induced cognitive deficiency. Further mechanism research indicated that EPA-PLs alleviated Aβ-induced neurotoxicity including oxidative stress, apoptosis, neuro-inflammation cascade, and hyper-phosphorylated tau in a dose-dependent pattern. These findings first suggest that EPA-PLs could also improve Aβ induced cognitive deficiency in a similar mechanism with DHA-PLs.

Neurotoxicity of amyloid β (Aβ) plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the comparative effects of docosahexaenoic acidphosphatidylcholine (DHA-PC) and docosahexaenoic acid-phosphatidylserine (DHA-PS) on Aβ-induced AD rats and studied further protective mechanisms underlying their effects. The administration of DHA-PC and DHA-PS (300 mg/kg, i.g., 27 days) had no effect on brain DHA levels but significantly improved Aβ-induced cognitive deficiency. Further mechanism research indicated that both DHA-PC and DHA-PS alleviated Aβ-induced neurotoxicity including oxidative stress, apoptosis, the neuroinflammation cascade, and hyper-phosphorylated tau. These results suggest that DHA-PC and DHA-PS represent a potential novel therapeutic candidate for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as AD. Such an effect uncoupled with an increase in brain DHA but has an intimate relationship with the phospholipid polar groups, and DHA-PS has a particular advantage.

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by growth abnormalities, premature aging, and photosensitivity. Mutation of Cockayne syndrome B (CSB) affects neuronal gene expression and differentiation, so we attempted to bypass its function by expressing downstream target genes. Intriguingly, ectopic expression of Synaptotagmin 9 (SYT9), a key component of the machinery controlling neurotrophin release, bypasses the need for CSB in neuritogenesis. Importantly, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin implicated in neuronal differentiation and synaptic modulation, and pharmacological mimics such as 7,8-dihydroxyflavone and amitriptyline can compensate for CSB deficiency in cell models of neuronal differentiation as well. SYT9 and BDNF are downregulated in CS patient brain tissue, further indicating that sub-optimal neurotrophin signaling underlies neurological defects in CS. In addition to shedding light on cellular mechanisms underlying CS and pointing to future avenues for pharmacological intervention, these data suggest an important role for SYT9 in neuronal differentiation.

Cyclophosphamide (Cy) is the most commonly used clinical chemotherapeutic drug for cancer treatment, although it damages the microbial ecology of the gut. This study focuses on the utilisation of food-derived functional components to manipulate the gut microbiota. With a mouse model injected with Cy, the protective effect of squid ink polysaccharide (SIP) on chemotherapy-induced intestinal dysbiosis was investigated by high-throughput sequencing. The shifts in relative abundance of the dominant taxa at the phylum, class, family, and genus levels show the incredible effects of SIP. In short, SIP decreases the abundance of Ruminococcus, Bilophila, Oscillospira, Dorea and, especially, Mucispirillum, which thrives in the early disruption of the colonic surface mucus layer and induces inflammatory disorders. Our results may have important implications for the use of SIP as a functional food component with potential therapeutic utility in manipulating the gut microbiota.

Simiaowan (SMW) is a famous Chinese prescription widely used in clinical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the present study is to determine novel biomarkers to increase the current understanding of RA mechanisms, as well as the underlying therapeutic mechanism of SMW, in RA-model rats. Plasma extracts from control, RA model, and SMW-treated rats were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). An orthogonal partial least-square discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model was created to detect metabolites that were expressed in significantly different amounts between the RA model and the control rats and investigate the therapeutic effect of SMW. Metabonomics may prove to be a valuable tool for determining the efficacy of complex traditional prescriptions.

Lactobacillus reuteri, a commensal intestinal bacteria, has various health benefits including the regulation of immunity and intestinal microbiota. We examined whether L. reuteri I5007 could protect mice against colitis in ameliorating inflammation, modulating microbiota, and metabolic composition. In vitro, HT-29 cells were cultured with L. reuteri I5007 or lipopolysaccharide treatment under three different conditions, i.e., pre-, co- (simultaneous), and posttreatment. Pretreatment with L. reuteri I5007 effectively relieves inflammation in HT-29 cells challenged with lipopolysaccharide. In vivo, mice were given L. reuteri I5007 by gavage throughout the study, starting one week prior to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) treatment for one week followed by two days without DSS. L. reuteri I5007 improved DSS-induced colitis, which was confirmed by reduced weight loss, colon length shortening, and histopathological damage, restored the mucus layer, as well as reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines levels. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequences and metabolome demonstrates that L. reuteri I5007 significantly alters colonic microbiota and metabolic structural and functional composition. Overall, the results demonstrate that L. reuteri I5007 pretreatment could effectively alleviate intestinal inflammation by regulating immune responses and altering the composition of gut microbiota structure and function, as well as improving metabolic disorders in mice with colitis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of antimicrobial peptide microcin J25 (MccJ25) on growth performance, immune regulation, and intestinal microbiota in broilers. A total of 3120 one-day-old male Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were randomly allocated to five groups (12 replicates, 52 chickens per replicate). The treatments were control, challenge (0 mg/kg MccJ25), different dosages of antimicrobial peptide (AMP) (0.5 and 1mg/kg MccJ25), and antibiotic groups (20 mg/kg colistin sulfate). The MccJ25 groups increased the body weight gain (starter and overall) that was reduced in the challenge group. The overall (day 1 to day 42) feed-to-gain ratio (G:F) was significantly decreased in AMP groups compared with the challenge group. Birds fed AMP had a decreased population of total anaerobic bacteria (day 21 and day 42) and E. coli (day 21 and day 42) in feces, as well as a lower Salmonella infection rate (day 21 and day 42) compared with birds in the challenge group. The villus height of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, as well as the villus height/crypt depth of the duodenum and jejunum were greater in AMP groups than birds in the challenge group. Moreover, MccJ25 linearly improved the villus height of the duodenum and jejunum. The addition of MccJ25 decreased the concentration of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 compared with challenge group. At d 21, MccJ25 linearly reduced the level of IL-6. In conclusion, dietary supplemented MccJ25 effectively improved performance, systematic inflammation, and improved fecal microbiota composition of the broilers.

Poison of intestinal induce severe health problems in human infants and young animals due to contaminating foods and feedstuffs. With the emergence of public health concerns and high-speed diffuse of drug-opposition of bacteria, the adoption of antimicrobial peptides as potential candidates in treating pathogen infections raised up. Nature Microcin J25 (MccJ25), a class of lasso peptides separated from a fecal strain of E. coli, has been replied to display powerful antimicrobial behavior. Herein, the study was to assess the usefulness of biogenic MccJ25 in the prophylaxis of ETEC K88 infection in IPEC-J2 cells. In vitro antimicrobial activity against ETEC K88 and cytotoxicity of biogenic MccJ25 were determined first. To further understand how biogenic MccJ25 mediates its impact, ETEC K88 adhesion in cells, membrane permeability [as indicated by reduced release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)], transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), barrier function, and proinflammatory cytokines levels were determined in IPEC-J2 cells after treatment with biogenic MccJ25 and challenge with ETEC K88. Biogenic MccJ25 had a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.25 μg/mL against ETEC K88, decreased ETEC K88 adhesion in cells and did not cause cytotoxicity toward cells. Furthermore, biogenic MccJ25 protects against ETEC-induced barrier dysfunction by increasing the TEER, decreasing the LDH and promoting tight junction proteins (TJPs) by promoting the assembly of occludin and claudin-1 in the tight junction complex. Biogenic MccJ25 was further found to relieve inflammation responses through modulation of interleukine-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels via inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor κB activation. In summary, biogenic MccJ25 can protects against ETEC K88-induced intestinal damage and inflammatory response, recommend the hidden adoption of biogenic MccJ25 as a novel prophylactic agent to reduce pathogen infection in animals, food or humans.

Current hormone-based treatments for immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) are associated with potentially serious adverse reactions. Zi Dian Fang (ZDF) is a multi-target Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) used to treat both the symptoms and root causes of ITP, with fewer side effects than hormone-based treatments. This study analysis of the therapeutic effects of ZDF on ITP from three aspects: platelet proliferation, immunoregulation, and inflammation. After detection of 52 chemical constituents of ZDF by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS, The main targets and pathways affected by ZDF were screened by network pharmacology and verified by Western blot and ELISA. Meanwhile, metabolomics analysis were applied to a mouse model of ITP to identify and screen endogenous terminal metabolites differentially regulated by ZDF. Integrated network pharmacology and metabolomics analysis of the therapeutic effects of ZDF on ITP may be as follows: ZDF counteracts ITP symptoms mainly by inhibiting Ras/MAPKs (Ras/Mitogen-activated protein kinases) pathway, and the expression of upstream protein (Ras) and downstream protein (p-ERK, p-JNK, p-p38) were inhibited, which affects the content of effect index associated with proliferation (Thrombopoietin, TPO; Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, GM-CSF), inflammation (Tumor necrosis factor-α, TNF-α; Interleukin-6, IL-6), immune (Interleukin-2, IL-2; Interferon-gamma, IFN-γ; Interleukin-4, IL-4), so that the body’s arginine, Δ12-prostaglandin j2 (Δ12-PGJ2), 9-cis-Retinoic Acid, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), oleic acid amide and other 12 endogenous metabolites significantly changes. Considering the established safety profile, the present study suggests ZDF may be a useful alternative to hormone-based therapies for the treatment of ITP.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming an increasingly prevalent chronic liver disease all over the world. The present study was undertaken to explore the synergistic effects of sea cucumber saponins (SCS) and eicosapentaenoic acid-enriched phospholipids (EPA-PL) at ratios of 0.5 : 0.5 and 1 : 1 on NAFLD and demonstrate possible protective mechanisms. It was found that the combination of EPA-PL and SCS at half dose exhibited better effects than EPA-PL or SCS alone and the combination of EPA-PL and SCS at full dose in alleviating orotic acid (OA)-induced symptoms including growth parameters, serum parameters and liver function. Further evaluation of the mechanism illustrated that EPA-PL and SCS combination at the ratio of 0.5 : 0.5 could markedly reduce the mRNA expressions of fatty acid synthase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme genes and significantly increase expression of genes relevant to fatty acid β-oxidation including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor and its target genes (CPT1, CPT2 and ACOX1), suggesting that the protection of the EPA-PL and SCS combination at the ratio of 0.5 : 0.5 against OA-induced NAFLD might be mainly via lipogenesis inhibition and β-oxidation enhancement in the liver. The synergistic effects of EPA-PL and SCS make it possible to reduce the doses of EPA-PL or SCS to avoid side effects, which is of value for the development of dietary supplements or functional foods for preventing or treating NAFLD.

Different from conventional reservoirs, nanoscale pores and fractures are dominant in tight or shale reservoirs. The flow behaviors of hydrocarbons in nanopores (called “confined space”) are more complex than that of bulk spaces. The interaction between liquid hydrocarbons and solid pore wall cannot be neglected. The viscosity formula which is varied with the pore diameter and interaction coefficient of liquids and solids in confined nanopores has been introduced in this paper to describe the interaction effects of hydrocarbons and pore walls. Based on the Navier-Stokes equation, the governing equation considered liquid/solid effect in two dimensions has been established, and approximate theoretical solutions to the governing equations have been achieved after mathematic simplification. By introducing the vortex equation, the complex numerical seepage model has been discretized and solved. Numerical results show that the radial velocity distribution near the solid wall has an obvious change when considering the liquid/solid interaction. The results consist well with that approximate mathematical solution. And when the capillary radius is smaller, the liquid and solid interaction coefficient n is greater. The liquid and solid interaction obviously cannot be neglected in the seepage model if the capillary radius is small than 50 nm when n>0.1. The numerical model has also been further validated by two types of nanopore flow tests: from pore to throat and inversely from throat to pore. There is no big difference in flow regularity of throat to pore model considering when liquid/solid interaction or not, whereas the liquid/solid interaction of pore to throat model totally cannot be overlooked.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported an error in