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Simple Summary: Increasing numbers of livestock and aquaculture are resulting in insufficient feed. As a result, the use of unconventional raw materials is receiving increased attention. Corn bran (CB) is a by-product of corn starch production, which is high in yield and dietary fiber but low in price. Whether CB can be used in laying ducks' diet and its maximum level remain unknown. In this study, the highest dietary CB level was set at 12%, which is double its maximum level in the laying duck industry. The results showed that the inclusion of 3%, 6%, 9%, and 12% CB in laying ducks' diet under iso-energy and iso-nitrogen conditions had no adverse impacts on laying performance. Feeding ducks a 12% CB diet also improved digestive organ development, cecal beneficial bacterium population and beneficial metabolite production, albumen height, Haugh unit, and yolk color of eggs. The data suggested that the level of CB can reach up to 12% in a laying duck diet under iso-energy and iso-nitrogen conditions. The application of corn bran (CB) to laying ducks via iso-energy and iso-nitrogen diets is rarely reported. Six hundred laying ducks (49 weeks) were equally assigned to five treatments: the control group with 0% CB and the other four groups with 3%, 6%, 9%, and 12% CB. The experiment lasted for 11 weeks. With the increase in CB, the relative weight of the proventriculus, gizzard, and ileum and the content and proportion of butyric acid in the cecal digesta were quadratically changed (p < 0.05), and the highest value was observed in the 12% CB group. Compared with the control, the 12% CB group showed decreased Deferribacteres, Spirochaetota, and Fusobacteriota at the phyla level and showed increased Pediococcus and decreased Bifidobacterium and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group at the genus level (p < 0.10); the 12% CB group also showed 46 different metabolites, which are related to Lactobacillus and Pediococcus (p < 0.05). The 12% CB group showed increased (p < 0.05) albumen height at week 8 and yolk color at weeks 4 and 8 compared with the control. Overall, dietary inclusion of 3% to 12% CB is a possible feeding strategy for laying ducks under iso-energy and iso-nitrogen conditions, and the 12% CB group was more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The expression of pyroptosis related factors GSDMD, Caspase-1, NLRP3, IL-1ß, IL-18 and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways in ovarian endometriosis was investigated and their correlations analyzed. Methods: A total of 50 patients with endometriosis who underwent ovarian cystectomy in the Department of Gynecology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College from January 2022 to January 2023 were enrolled as endometriosis group. In addition, 55 patients with normal endometrial tissue who underwent hysteroscopic surgery in the hospital during the same period were selected as the control group, and patients with endometriosis were excluded during the operation. RT-qPCR, Western Blot was used to detect the expression of pyroptosis-related factor and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway mRAN, protein in the above tissues, and the correlation between the expression of the two was analyzed by Pearson correlation test. Results: The expression of pyroptosis-related factors and mRAN of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in ectopic ovarian cyst tissues was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that pyroptosis-related factors in ectopic ovarian cysts were positively correlated with the mRNA expression levels of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The pyroptosis correlation factors GSDMD, Caspase-1, NLRP3, IL-1ß, IL-18 and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways are highly expressed in ovarian endometriosis, and the pyroptosis-related factors are positively correlated with the expression of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, suggesting that the regulation of endometriosis by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway is likely to be achieved by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]