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BackgroundVaricocele (VC) is present in 35 - 40% of men with infertility. However, current surgical and antioxidant treatments are not completely effective. In addition to oxidative stress, it is likely that other factors such as testicular immune microenvironment disorder contribute to irreversible testicular. Evidence suggests that VC is associated with anti-sperm antibodies (ASAs), spermatogenesis and testosterone secretion abnormalities, and testicular cytokine production. Moreover, inhibition of inflammation can alleviate VC-mediated pathogenesis. The normal function of the testis depends on its immune tolerance mechanism. Testicular immune regulation is complex, and many infectious or non-infectious diseases may damage this precision system.ResultsThe testicular immune microenvironment is composed of common immune cells and other cells involved in testicular immunity. The former includes testicular macrophages, T cells, dendritic cells (DCs), and mast cells, whereas the latter include Leydig cells and Sertoli cells (SCs). In animal models and in patients with VC, most studies have revealed an abnormal increase in the levels of ASAs and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in the seminal plasma, testicular tissue, and even peripheral blood. It is also involved in the activation of potential inflammatory pathways, such as the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing (NLRP)-3 pathway. Finally, the development of VC-mediated infertility (VMI) may be facilitated by abnormal permeability of proteins, such as claudin-11, that constitute the blood-testis barrier (BTB).ConclusionsThe testicular immune response, including the production of ASAs and inflammatory factors, activation of inflammatory pathways, and destruction of the BTB may be involved in the pathogenesis of VMI it is necessary to further explore how patient outcomes can be improved through immunotherapy.

The fatigue strength of a component is known to highly depend on its surface quality, and it is thus necessary to develop a reliable and appropriate mathematical model for fatigue strength assessment that consider the effect of surface roughness. In this paper, different underlying physical mechanisms of the roughness effect at different regions of specimens were studied by fatigue testing of 7N01 aluminum alloy. For a quantitative analysis of the surface roughness effect, a revised stress field intensity approach for a fatigue strength assessment of microsized notches was proposed as a theoretical support. In the new model, a new form of weight function was built to adapt the characteristics of microsized notches. In addition, the effect of the field radius was fundamentally weakened on solution of the stress field intensity and the difficulty of fatigue failure region definition in the traditional method was overcome correspondingly in the proposed model, which made the calculated field strength accurate and objective. Finally, to demonstrate the validity of the revised approach quantitatively, specimens with conventionally sized notches were subjected to stress field intensity calculations. The results showed that the revised approach has satisfactory accuracy compared with the other two traditional approaches from the perspective of quantitative analysis.

Three sunflower head pectin (SFHP) with different molecular weights (Mw = 4.50, 97.23, and 254.64 kDa) were obtained by enzyme-assisted extraction and characterized by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1 M HCl solution was evaluated by the weight loss measurement. The inhibition efficiency (IE%) increased as its concentration increases and decreased as the temperature increases. The SFHP with the lowest Mw of 4.50 kDa exhibited an IEmax of 92.05% at the medium concentration (2.0 g L–1). The inhibition properties of SFHP (Mw = 4.50 kDa) were investigated electrochemically and theoretically. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed that the charge-transfer resistance increased as its concentration increases, the double-layer capacitance decreased as concentration increases, and the IE% also increased as concentration increases. The potentiodynamic polarization (PP) revealed that the SFHP acted as mixed-type inhibitor. The IE% reached 90.3% at the medium concentration (2.0 g L–1) of SHFP. The three-dimensional super depth digital microscopy and scanning electron microscopy tests confirmed the formation of inhibitor films on the surface of mild steel. The adsorption of SFHP on the mild steel surface was proved to obey the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The theoretical studies via density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulation further revealed the mechanism of corrosion inhibition.

In this study, a BODIPY-based water-soluble fluorescent chemosensor BBP has been synthesized using BODIPY as the fluorescence group and quinoline as the recognition group. BBP can be used for naked eye detection of pH in complete aqueous solution and it shows high specificity in a wide range of cations. The pKa value is determined to be 2.94 and the fluorescence intensity is linearly related to pH in the range of 2.4-3.6.

Objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of supplementing rumen-protected methionine (RP-Met), threonine (RP-Thr), isoleucine (RP-Ile), and leucine (RP-Leu) individually or jointly to a low-protein diet, on the performance of lactating dairy cows, as well as to determine the effects of these amino acids (AA) on the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in vivo. Ten lactating Holstein cows were randomly allocated to a repeated 5 × 5 Latin square experiment with five 19-d periods. Treatments were high-protein diet (16% crude protein, positive control; HP), low-protein diet (12% crude protein, negative control; LP), LP plus RP-Met (LPM), LP plus RP-Met and RP-Thr (LPMT), and LP plus RP-Met, RP-Thr, RP-Ile, and RP-Leu (LPMTIL). The dry matter intakes (DMI) of the LP, LPM, and LPMT diets were lower than that of the HP diet, whereas the DMI of the LPMTIL diet was intermediate between the HP diet and the other LP diets. Supplementing RP-Met to the LP diet increased the yields of milk and milk protein, increased the content of milk urea N, and tended to increase milk N efficiency. Co-supplementation of RP-Thr with RP-Met resulted in no further milk production increase. Co-supplementation of all 4 rumen-protected amino acids (RP-AA) increased milk and lactose yields to the level of the HP diet and tended to increase milk protein yield compared with the LPMT diet. We found no significant differences in the contents and yields of milk components between the LPMTIL and HP diets except for a lower milk urea N content in the LPMTIL diet. Venous concentrations of the measured AA were similar across the LP and LP diets supplemented with RP-AA. Relative to levels of the HP diet, LP diets had higher venous concentrations of Met and Gly and tended to have higher Phe concentration and lower concentrations of Val and BCAA. The LPMTIL diet had higher venous concentrations of Arg, Lys, Met, Phe, and Glu, and a lower Val concentration. Phosphorylation status of the measured mTOR components in LPM and LPMT treatments were similar to those in the LP treatment but phosphorylation status of mTOR and eIF4E-binding protein 1 (4eBP1) in LPMTIL treatment were higher. The phosphorylation rates of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) in the 4 LP and LP plus RP-AA diets were higher than that of the HP diet. Overall, results of the present study supported the concept that under the relatively short time of this experiment, supplementing RP-AA, which are believed to stimulate the mTOR signal pathway, can lead to increased milk protein yield. This increase appears to be due to increased DMI, greater mTOR signaling, and greater eEF2 activity.

A Ru-catalyzed selective and atom-economic ortho-C–H allylation of aromatic acids with vinylcyclopropanes is reported. The reaction proceeds with selective cleavage of both a C–H and a C–C bond. A ...

A catalytic annulation is presented that provides straightforward, modular synthetic access to 3-substituted indanones from benzoic acids and α,β-unsaturated ketones. It is catalyzed by a bimetalli...

The radiation-based sterile insect technique (SIT) has successfully suppressed field populations of several insect pest species, but its effect on mosquito vector control has been limited. The related incompatible insect technique (IIT)-which uses sterilization caused by the maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia-is a promising alternative, but can be undermined by accidental release of females infected with the same Wolbachia strain as the released males. Here we show that combining incompatible and sterile insect techniques (IIT-SIT) enables near elimination of field populations of the world's most invasive mosquito species, Aedes albopictus. Millions of factory-reared adult males with an artificial triple-Wolbachia infection were released, with prior pupal irradiation of the released mosquitoes to prevent unintentionally released triply infected females from successfully reproducing in the field. This successful field trial demonstrates the feasibility of area-wide application of combined IIT-SIT for mosquito vector control.

Statistical modeling using ground-based PM2.5 observations and satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) data is a promising means of obtaining spatially and temporally continuous PM2.5 estimations to assess population exposure to PM2.5. However, the vast amount of AOD data that is missing due to retrieval incapability above bright reflecting surfaces such as cloud/snow cover and urban areas challenge this application. Furthermore, most previous studies cannot directly account for the spatiotemporal autocorrelations in PM2.5 distribution, impacting the associated estimation accuracy. In this study, fixed rank smoothing was adopted to fill the data gaps in a semifinished 3 km AOD dataset, which was a combination of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 3 km Dark Target AOD data and MODIS 10 km Deep Blue AOD data from the Terra and Aqua satellites. By matching the gap-filled 3 km AOD data, ground-based PM2.5 observations, and auxiliary variable data, sufficient samples were screened to develop a spatiotemporal regression kriging (STRK) model for PM2.5 estimation. The STRK model achieved notable performance in a cross-validation experiment, with a R square of 0.87 and root-mean-square error of 16.55 μg/m3 when applied to estimate daily ground-level PM2.5 concentrations over East China from March 1, 2015 to February 29, 2016. Using the STRK model, daily PM2.5 concentrations with full spatial coverage at a resolution of 3 km were generated. The PM2.5 distribution pattern over East China can be identified at a relatively fine spatiotemporal scale. Thus, the STRK model with gap-filled high-resolution AOD data can provide reliable full-coverage PM2.5 estimations over large areas for long-term exposure assessment in epidemiological studies.

One central factor in hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) pathogenesis is pulmonary vascular remodelling (PVR) which involves dysregulation of proliferation and migration in pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs). Growing evidence suggests that Apical/basolateral polarity plays an important role in cell proliferation, migration, adhesion and differentiation. In this study, we explored whether cell polarity is involved and critical in experimental HPS rats that are induced by common bile duct ligation (CBDL). Cell polarity related proteins were analysed in CBDL rats lung and PMVECs under the HPS serum stimulation by immunofluorescence assay. Cdc42/PTEN activity, cell proliferation and migration and Annexin A2 (AX2) in PMVECs were determined, respectively. Cell polarity related proteins, lost their specialized luminal localization in PMVECs of the CBDL rat. The loss of cell polarity was induced by abnormal activity of Cdc42, which was strongly enhanced by the interaction between p‐PTEN and Annexin A2 in PMVECs, after treatment with serum from CBDL rats. It led to over‐proliferation and high migration ability of PMVECs. Down‐regulation of PTEN‐Cdc42 activity in PMVECs restored cell polarity and thus reduced their ability of migration and proliferation. Our study suggested that the loss of cell polarity plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of HPS‐associated PVR and may become a potentially effective therapeutic target.

Wax deposits in oil pipelines can reduce the effective inner diameter of such pipelines, which may lead to pipeline blockage accidents. In this study, a cold finger experimental device was construc...

To investigate the possible pathways of Met deficiency to depress milk protein synthesis, 4 lactating goats fitted with jugular vein, mammary vein, and carotid artery catheters and transonic blood flow detectors on the external pudic artery were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square experiment. Goats were fasted for 24 h followed by a 9-h intravenous infusion of an AA mixture plus glucose. Milk yield was recorded and samples were taken in h 2 to 8 of the infusion period, and mammary biopsy was performed in the last hour. Treatments were graded removal of Met from the infused AA mixture to achieve Met content in the infusate of 100 (complete), 60, 30, or 0% of that in casein. Graded Met removal decreased yield of milk, milk protein, and lactose linearly and tended to decrease yield of milk fat linearly. Milk protein yield decreased to 82, 78, and 69% that of complete mixture infusion, respectively, when the 60, 30, and 0% Met infusate was infused. Circulating Met decreased linearly with graded Met removal. Arterial and venous Met decreased to 36 and 23% that of complete mixture infusion, respectively, when all Met was removed out of the mixture. Concomitant with the decreased circulating concentration was a similar increase in mammary Met affinity as reflected by the linearly increased mammary Met clearance rate. The increased affinity plus the linearly increased mammary blood flow totally offset the negative effect of decreased circulating Met concentration on mammary Met uptake. The overall result was similar mammary Met uptakes across treatments ranging from 285.9 to 339.5 μmol/h. Mammary uptakes of the other AA measured were generally not affected by treatments except for a linearly decreased Thr uptake and a trend of linearly increased Glu uptake. Consistent with the behavior of an AA mainly catabolized in the liver and mainly used for protein synthesis in peripheral tissues, mammary uptake to milk output ratios of Met measured in the present study ranged from 1.25 to 1.49 and was not affected by treatments. For the other AA measured, the ratio of Thr was linearly decreased and that of Glu was linearly increased by graded Met removal. Graded Met removal linearly elevated circulating urea N and glucose concentrations, indicating enhanced whole-body catabolism of AA and hepatic gluconeogenesis. Treatments had no significant effects on circulating insulin, growth hormone, and the other hormones and metabolites measured. Phosphorylation status of eIF4E binding protein 1 tended to decrease linearly and that of p70S6k was linearly decreased by graded Met removal, indicating depressed signal in the intracellular mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway. In conclusion, results of the present study indicated that the mTORC1 pathway and whole-body AA catabolism rather than mammary uptake appeared the drivers for changes in milk protein synthesis in response to varying Met supply.

Cytoplasmic effects (CEs) have been discovered to influence a diverse array of agronomic traits in crops, and understanding the underlying mechanisms can help accelerate breeding programs. Seed oil content (SOC) is of great agricultural, nutritional, and economic importance. However, the genetic basis of CEs on SOC (CE-SOC) remains enigmatic. In this study, we use an optimized approach to sequence the cytoplasmic (plastid and mitochondrial) genomes of allotetraploid oilseed rape (Brassica napus) cultivars, 51218 and 56366, that bear contrasting CE-SOC. By combining comparative genomics and genome-wide transcriptome analysis, we identify mitochondria-encoded orf188 as a potential CE-SOC determinant gene. Functional analyses in the model system Arabidopsis thaliana and rapeseed demonstrated that orf188 governs CE-SOC and could significantly increase SOC, strikingly, through promoting the yield of ATP. Consistent with this finding, transcriptional profiling with microarray and RNA sequencing revealed that orf188 affects transcriptional reprogramming of mitochondrial energy metabolism to facilitate ATP production. Intriguingly, orf188 is a previously uncharacterized chimeric gene, and the presence of this genetic novelty endows rapeseed with positive CE-SOC. Our results shed light on the molecular basis of CEs on a key quantitative trait in polyploid crops and enrich the theory of maternal control of oil content, providing new scientific guidance for breeding high-oil rapeseed germplasms.

Probucol has antioxidant effects and inhibits inflammation. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor that regulates autophagy, which is regarded as the key cause of the activation of hepatic stellate cell (HSC). In this study, the effects of probucol on HSC activation and autophagy in vitro and vivo and the role of FXR in this progress were investigated. Results showed that probucol ameliorated hepatic fibrosis and autophagy, and increased the expression of FXR in liver in a mouse model of fibrosis induced by CCl4. And probucol could alleviate lipopolysaccharide-induced autophagy and HSC activation in vitro. In addition, probucol increased FXR expression, and the Z-guggulsterone, an antagonist of FXR, could block the effects of probucol on HSC activation and autophagy. Additionally, agonists of FXR could suppress LPS-induced autophagy and activation. These results suggest that probucol could ameliorate hepatic fibrosis, and inhibit HSC autophagy and activation, and these effects are associated with FXR. Keywords: Probucol, Hepatic fibrosis, Autophagy, Farnesoid X receptor

The present study investigated the effects of dietary forage source (quality) and particle size on chewing activity, saliva secretion, and ruminal pH. Twelve multiparous lactating Holstein cows, four of which were ruminally cannulated, were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square experimental design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Cows fed wild-rye hay diets had longer daily eating times than cows fed oaten hay diets. Treatments had no effect on ruminating time; therefore, resting time varied inversely to eating time. Neither the rate nor the amount of saliva secretion while eating, ruminating, or resting was affected by diet, resulting in similar total daily saliva secretions across treatments (231 L/day). Total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in the ruminal fluid from animals fed oaten hay diets were higher than those from animals fed wild-rye hay diets; further, VFAs increased with decreasing forage particle size (FPS). Consistent with elevated VFA concentrations, reducing FPS and including oaten hay in the diet decreased mean ruminal pH and increased the daily time of ruminal pH under 5.8. Results of this study suggest that forage source and particle size affect ruminal pH might be via variations in VFA production rather than increased salivary recycling of buffering substrates.

Research shows that the viscosity greatly reduction of viscous crude oil can improve the exploitation and promote the fluidity. We studied the effects and the mechanism of viscosity reduction of vi...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in marine molluscs could be a serious threat to the health of consumers; however, studies on this subject are limited. To understand this threat, the indicator PCBs (PCB-28, PCB-52, PCB-101, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153 and PCB-180) found in six different kinds of molluscs were determined, and the associated cancer risk for consumers that intake these indicator PCBs via molluscs was assessed. The total concentrations of PCBs in molluscs ranged from 17.51 to 47.43 ng/g (d.w.). The order of contamination levels for indicator PCBs in molluscs was Perna viridis > Ruditapes philippinarum > Crassostrea gigas > Mimachlamys nobilis > Glossaulax didyma > Anadara antiquata. Tri-, tetra- and penta-PCBs were the dominant congeners in molluscs from Haikou City. Tetra-PCBs are the most common PCB, accounting for 38.49% of total PCBs. Compared with previous global studies on PCBs in molluscs, the pollution level of indicator PCBs in the molluscs from Haikou City was lower than most of reports in Europe and China, but higher than those from France and Korea, suggesting a moderate pollution level. The 50% and 95% cancer risks of indicator PCBs in molluscs for adult consumers were 2.75 × 10-7 and 4.32 × 10-7, indicating that the cancer risk was at an acceptable level. Since the dioxin like-PCBs were not analyzed in this study, the cancer risk of PCBs to human health might be underestimated; therefore, more studies on PCB pollution in molluscs are required.

China has abundant straw resources. However, the straw has high levels of crude fiber, low levels of crude protein and fat, poor palatability and low digestibility and a large volume. This study explored the feasibility of using wheat straw powder to replace some of alfalfa and the suitable replacement ratio for lactating dairy cows. In this trial, cows in the mid-lactation stage were fed with rations in which alfalfa hay was replaced isocalorically and isonitrogenously at 0%, 20%, 40% and 60% by wheat straw powder to explore the rumen metabolism and production performance of lactating dairy cows. Using a large randomized block design, 60 cows were selected and divided into 4 groups: the positive control group CG (0% replacement), and groups AL (20% replacement), AM (40% replacement), and AH (60% replacement). The pre-feeding period was 2 weeks and the trial period was 8 weeks. Milk yield, milk protein yield, milk protein percentage, lactose yield, lactose percentage, milk fat yield, and milk fat percentage were not affected by the diets, and the differences among the groups were not significant (P > 0.05). The results show that replacing 20% alfalfa with wheat straw powder is most beneficial to production. When only the feed costs were considered, without considering other costs (such as labor, machinery, etc.) in the economic benefit calculation process, and assume that other costs are the same among the groups, and the economic benefits obtained by the AL group were the largest. The experimental results provide a basis for the further development of straw feed.

In this study, a highly selective chemosensor ML based on a BODIPY fluorescent chromophore was synthesized for sequential recognition of Cu2+ and HSO3− in a CH3OH/H2O (99 : 1 v/v) system, which contained three recognition sites and its structure characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and ESI-HR-MS. The sensor ML showed an obvious “on–off” fluorescence quenching response toward Cu2+ and the ML-Cu2+ complex showed an “off–on” fluorescence enhancement response toward HSO3−. The detection limit of the sensor ML was 0.36 μM to Cu2+ and 1.4 μM to HSO3−. In addition, the sensor ML showed a 1 : 3 binding stoichiometry to Cu2+ and the recovery rate of ML-Cu2+ complex identifying HSO3− could be over 70%. Sensor ML showed remarkable detection ability in a pH range of 4–8.

Purpose: This study evaluated the efficacy of retrobulbar ropivacaine plus dexmedetomidine compared with systemic fentanyl in pediatric vitreoretinal (VR) surgery. Methods: This prospective double-blind, randomized controlled study was performed in 60 children undergoing VR surgery, age from 2 to 7 years. After general anesthesia, the following procedure was administrated: (1) retrobulbar block with 0.5% ropivacaine plus dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg (group RD, n = 20), (2) retrobulbar block with 0.5% ropivacaine (group RB, n = 20), and (3) control group with general anesthesia only (group F, n = 20). Hemodynamics, postoperative pain scores, anesthetics consumption (remifentanil, propofol, fentanyl), and emergence agitation were recorded. Results: Respiratory depression was observed in 7 of the 20 patients in group F after the laryngeal mask airway was removed in the operating room, compared with none in groups RD and RB. All patients in group F required intraoperative rescue fentanyl (average intraoperative fentanyl consumption, 26.6 ± 12.6 μg per patient). Some rescue fentanyl was required in group RB (three patients required one dose of rescue fentanyl). Patients in group RD required none. Groups RD and RB reported lower pain scores than group F at 4 h postoperatively (RD group: P < 0.001; RB group: P =0.002); pain scores in group RD were lower than that in group F at 6 h postoperatively (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Retrobulbar dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to ropivacaine is a safe and effective alternative to systemic fentanyl. This regimen provides better pain management, hemodynamic stability, and stress response suppression in pediatric VR surgery.

Continuous flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs) have become a viable option for patients with end-stage heart failure as a bridge to transplantation or the destination therapy.Adult patients listed for heart transplantation (2010-2015) with an axial CF-LVAD on the wait list were obtained from the UNOS database. The multivariate Cox regression model was used to predict the probability of survival after listing. Patients were divided into derivation (80%) and validation (20%) groups. Receiver operating characteristics curves and area under curves were used to define the strength of the model.Risk factors on multivariate analyses were diabetes type I (hazard ratio [HR], 2.5; P = .018), presence of inotropes (HR, 1.6; P = .005), creatinine at listing (HR, 1.2; P.001). No significant differences were observed between the derivation and validation groups for any of the variables. The area under the curve at 3, 6, and 12 months on the wait list was 0.69, 0.65, 0.63, respectively in the training set and 0.71, 0.65, 0.60, respectively in the validation set. Survival analyses showed that patients implanted with Heartmate II before listing had a better survival than those who were implanted after being on the wait list (HR, 0.78; P = .048).To our knowledge, this was the first time a risk prediction model was generated for wait-list survival of Heartmate II patients. A significant difference in survival was noted between patients who received their Heartmate II before being put on a wait list vs those who were implanted while on the list.

In the presence of [

Photon upconversion is a fascinating phenomenon that can convert low-energy photons to high-energy photons efficiently. However, most previous relevant research has been focused on upconversion systems with a sufficiently low lanthanide emitter concentration, such as 2 mol% for Er3+ in an Er–Yb coupled system. Realizing the upconversion from lanthanide heavily doped systems in particular, the emitter sublattice is still a challenge. Here, we report a mechanistic strategy to achieve the intense upconversion of the holmium sublattice in a core–shell-based nanostructure design through interfacial energy transfer channels. This design allowed a spatial separation of Ho3+ and sensitizers (e.g., Yb3+) into different regions and unwanted back energy transfers between them could then be minimized. By taking advantage of the dual roles of Yb3+ as both a migrator and energy trapper, a gradual color change from red to yellowish green was achievable upon 808 nm excitation, which could be further markedly enhanced by surface attaching indocyanine green dyes to facilitate the harvesting of the incident excitation energy. Moreover, emission colors could be tuned by applying non-steady state excitation. Such a fine-tunable color behavior holds great promise in anti-counterfeiting. Our results present a facile but effective conceptual model for the upconversion of the holmuim sublattice, which is helpful for the development of a new class of luminescent materials toward frontier applications.

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), growth hormone (GH), and prolactin (PRL) play important roles in milk protein synthesis, and their plasma concentrations were reported to be affected by dietary protein intake. To investigate the relationship between circulating amino acid (AA) and concentrations of these hormones, 18 Wistar rats aged 14 wk were assigned to a low (LP; 9% protein), standard (SP; 21% protein), or high-protein (HP; 35% protein) diet from parturition through day 15 of lactation. Plasma, liver, pituitary gland, skeletal muscle, and mammary gland samples were collected at the end of treatment. Circulating and hepatic IGF-I concentrations increased linearly with elevated dietary protein concentrations (P < 0.0001). Rats receiving the HP diet had higher circulating GH (P < 0.01) and pituitary PRL concentrations (P < 0.0001) but lower pituitary GH concentration (P < 0.0001) relative to those in rats receiving the LP and SP diets. Pearson correlation test performed on composed data across treatments showed that several circulating AAs were correlated with circulating and tissue concentrations of IGF-I, GH, and PRL. Multiple linear regression analyses identified Leu, Gln, Ala, Gly, and Arg as the main AAs associated with hormone responses (R2 = 0.37 ~ 0.80; P < 0.05). Rats fed the LP and HP diets had greater Igf1 and Ghr gene expression in skeletal muscle than those fed the SP diets (P < 0.01). However, LP treatment decreased Prlr mRNA abundance in mammary glands as compared with the SP and HP treatments (P < 0.05). The HP diets increased AA transporter expression (P < 0.01) but decreased mammalian target of rapamycin (P < 0.05) and 70 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (P < 0.01) phosphorylation in mammary glands as compared with the LP and SP diets. The results of the present study suggested that several circulating AAs mediated the effects of dietary protein supply on concentrations of IGF-I, GH, and PRL, which in turn altered the metabolism status in peripheral tissues including the lactating mammary glands.

To improve the soft fault diagnosis ability of analog circuits, a wavelet network (WNN) soft fault diagnosis method based on improved Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm (AFSA) is proposed. In the method, chaos initialization strategy and mutation factor are introduced to improve the shortcomings of standard AFSA, so as to improve the global search ability of WNN parameters and overcome local convergence. According to the soft fault diagnosis flow of the designed analog circuit, the WNN model trained by improved AFSA is built. Simulation shows that the method is effective and feasible for soft fault diagnosis of analog circuits.

Existing literature on China’s urbanisation has been based primarily on the expansion of cities and towns with little attention paid to urban renewals. Wasteful use of urban land has been conventionally attributed to the ambiguous definition and ineffective protection of property rights. This study examines the recent practices of urban redevelopment in Guangzhou – a site chosen by the central authorities for the experiment of urban renewals (san jiu gai zao 三旧改造). The research identifies a local practice in which institutional changes are made not in the delineation of land property rights but instead in the redistribution of the benefits to be made from land redevelopment. Original land users are motivated to engage in urban renewals by a share of the land conveyance income previously monopolised by the state. Land use intensity and efficiency have been improved along with intensified social exclusion and marginalisation. Land property rights are practiced not so much as a bundle of rights with standardised and uniform legal assignments but more as a diverse set of local and informal arrangements adaptable to various political and social conditions. Findings of this research cast doubt over the perceived notion that uniform and unambiguous property rights definition is the prerequisite for improved land use efficiency and call for a critical evaluation of the current urban renewal policies that completely ignore the interests of the migrant population who outnumber local villagers by a large margin.

Reproductive tract infections contribute to the development of testicular inflammatory lesions, leading to male infertility. Previous research shows that the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in orchitis promotes the secretion and maturation of IL-1β and, thus, decreases male fertility. The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is closely related to the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. An increase in the CaSR level promotes the assembly and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. However, the role of CaSRs in orchitis is unknown. We first constructed a uropathogenic Escherichia Coli (UPEC) rat orchitis model and then detected the expression of CaSR and NLRP3 inflammatory pathway proteins in testicular macrophages (TM) through RT-PCR and WB, calcium levels in TM through flow cytometry, and proinflammatory factor IL-1β through ELISA. In addition, testosterone levels in the serum samples were detected using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Here, we show that CaSR upregulation after infection in TM in a rat model of UPEC induces the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and thereby enhances IL-1β secretion and reduces the testosterone level in the blood. Moreover, CaSR inhibitors can alleviate inflammatory impairment. After UPEC challenge in vitro, CaSR promoted NLRP3 expression and released IL-1β cleaved from TM into the supernatant. Overall, elevated CaSR levels in TM in testes with UPEC-induced orchitis may impair testosterone synthesis through the activation of the NLRP3 pathway and PK2 is an upstream regulatory protein of CaSR. Our research further shows the underlying mechanisms of inflammation-related male infertility and provides anti-inflammatory therapeutic targets for male infertility.

Most studies examining the effect of extended exposure to general anesthetic agents (GAAs) have demonstrated that extended exposure induces both structural and functional changes in the central nervous system. These changes are frequently accompanied by neurobehavioral changes that include impulse control disorders that are generally characterized by deficits in behavioral inhibition and executive function. In this review, we will.

Triclocarban (TCC), an antibacterial agent widely used in personal care products, can affect embryonic development. However, the specific molecular mechanism of TCC-induced embryonic developmental damage remains unclear. In this study, TCC exposure was found to increase the expression of tmbim4 gene in zebrafish embryos. The tmbim4 mutant embryos are more susceptible to TCC exposure than wild-type (WT) embryos, with tmbim4 overexpression reducing TCC-induced embryonic death in the former. Exposure of tmbim4 mutant larvae to 400 μg/L TCC substantially increased apoptosis in the hindbrain and eyes. RNA-sequencing of WT and tmbim4 mutant larvae indicated that knockout of the tmbim4 gene in zebrafish affects the autophagy pathway. Abnormalities in autophagy can increase apoptosis and TCC exposure caused abnormal accumulation of autophagosomes in the hindbrain of tmbim4 mutant zebrafish embryos. Pretreatment of TCC-exposed tmbim4 mutant zebrafish embryos with autophagosome formation inhibitors, substantially reduced the mortality of embryos and apoptosis levels. These results indicate that defects in the tmbim4 gene can reduce zebrafish embryo resistance to TCC. Additionally, apoptosis induced by abnormal accumulation of autophagosomes is involved in this process.

An accurate assessment of root respiration in mine reclaimed soil is important for effectively evaluating mining area ecosystem. This study investigated dynamic changes in root respiration and contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration (Rr/Rt ratio) during the non-growing season in mine reclaimed soil with different covering soil thicknesses. According to covering soil thicknesses, the study area was divided into four sites: 10-25 cm (site A), 25-45 cm (site B), 45-55 cm (site C) and 55-65 cm (site D). From November 2017 to April 2018 (except February in 2018), the soil respiration, root respiration, temperature at 5 cm, water content and root biomass were measured. The results showed that soil temperature and root respiration exhibited similar diurnal and monthly variations. The root respiration was strongly influenced by soil temperature during the non-growing season, which showed an exponential and positive relationship with soil temperature (P2 at regional scale in mine reclaimed soil.

The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) integrates various types of signal inputs, such as energy, growth factors, and amino acids to regulate cell growth and proliferation mainly through the 2 direct downstream targets, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4EBP1) and ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1). Most of the signal arms upstream of mTORC1 including energy status, stress signals, and growth factors converge on the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) − Ras homologue enriched in brain (Rheb) axis. Amino acids, however, are distinct from other signals and modulate mTORC1 using a unique pathway. In recent years, the transmission mechanism of amino acid signals upstream of mTORC1 has been gradually elucidated, and some sensors or signal transmission pathways for individual amino acids have also been discovered. With the help of these findings, we propose a general picture of recent advances, which demonstrates that various amino acids from lysosomes, cytoplasm, and Golgi are sensed by their respective sensors. These signals converge on mTORC1 and form a huge and complicated signal network with multiple synergies, antagonisms, and feedback mechanisms.

Background: The presence of the rumen makes the ruminant special, and the rumen flora has an important influence on the ruminant. The rumen is not fully developed in young ruminants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of supplemental feeding of rumen fluid from high-yielding dairy cows with suckling calves on rumen microflora after weaning. For the experiment, 12 newborn Holstein male calves with the same feeding environment and similar ages were selected. They were randomly divided into 3 groups, with 4 in each group. The three treatments were: addition of sterilized rumen fluid to milk (Group M), addition of sterilized rumen fluid to starter feed (Group S), and a normal fed control group (Group C). The growth performance indices and blood indices were measured, and rumen fluid samples were collected after weaning. Furthermore, 16S rDNA sequencing and LC-MS metabolome detection were performed.Results: Compared with the control group, the growth performance of group S was significantly increased, and the difference between group M and group C was not significant. For the immune indicators in the blood, group M showed a greater difference from group C; the blood-related and energy-related indicators were less different between the two test groups and the control group. For the rumen fluid microbiome and metabolome detection, both groups M and S showed significant differences from group C.Conclusions: The microflora and metabolites were different due to different supplementary feeding methods. Metabolites with differential levels were mainly involved in metabolic pathways such as amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism.

Sevoflurane, in particular multiple exposures, has been reported to cause the abnormal neurological development including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study is to investigate ADHD-like impulsivity in adult mice after repeated sevoflurane exposures at the neonatal stage. Six-day-old pups were exposed to 60% oxygen in the presence or absence of 3% sevoflurane for 2 h and the treatment was administrated once daily for three consecutive days. To assess the impulsivity, the cliff avoidance reaction (CAR) was carried out at the 8th week. Our results showed that repeated sevoflurane treatment increased the number of jumps and shortened the jumping latency in the CAR test. The cortices were harvested for immunostaining to detect c-Fos and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We found that mPFC neurons, especially excitatory neurons, were highly activated and related to impulsive behavior. The activation viruses (AAV-CaMKIIα-hM3Dq) were injected to evaluate the effects of specific activation of mPFC excitatory neurons on impulsive behavior in the presence of clozapine-N-oxide (CNO). Likewise, the inhibitory viruses (AAV-CaMKIIα-hM4Di) were injected in the sevoflurane group to explore whether the mPFC excitatory neuronal inhibition reduced the impulsivity. Our results revealed that chemogenetic activation of mPFC excitatory neurons induced impulsive behavior whereas inhibition of mPFC excitatory neurons partially rescued the deficit. These results indicate that repeated sevoflurane exposures at the critical time induce impulsive behavior accompanied with overactivation of mPFC excitatory neurons in adult stages. This work may further extend to understand the ADHD-like impulsive behavior of the anesthetic neurotoxicity.

An accurate assessment of root respiration in mine reclaimed soil is important for effectively evaluating mining area ecosystem. This study investigated dynamic changes in root respiration and contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration (Rr/Rt ratio) during the non-growth season in mine reclaimed soil with different covering soil thicknesses. According to covering soil thicknesses, the study area was divided into four sites: 10-25 cm (site A), 25-45 cm (site B), 45-55 cm (site C) and 55-65 cm (site D). From November 2017 to April 2018 (except February in 2018), the soil respiration, root respiration, temperature at 5 cm, water content and root biomass were measured. The results showed thatsoiltemperature and root respiration exhibited similar diurnal and monthly variations. The root respiration was strongly influenced by soil temperature during the non-growing season, which showed an exponential and positive relationship with soil temperature (P2 at regional scale inmine reclaimed soil.

Reproductive tract infections contribute to the development of testicular inflammatory lesions, leading to male infertility. Previous research shows that the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in orchitis promotes the secretion and maturation of IL-1β and, thus, decreases male fertility. The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is closely related to the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. An increase in the CaSR level promotes the assembly and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. However, the role of CaSRs in orchitis is unknown. We first constructed a uropathogenic Escherichia Coli (UPEC) rat orchitis model and then detected the expression of CaSR and NLRP3 inflammatory pathway proteins in testicular macrophages (TM) through RT-PCR and WB, calcium levels in TM through flow cytometry, and proinflammatory factor IL-1β through ELISA. In addition, testosterone levels in the serum samples were detected using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Here, we show that CaSR upregulation after infection in TM in a rat model of UPEC induces the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and thereby enhances IL-1β secretion and reduces the testosterone level in the blood. Moreover, CaSR inhibitors can alleviate inflammatory impairment. After UPEC challenge in vitro, CaSR promoted NLRP3 expression and released IL-1β cleaved from TM into the supernatant. Overall, elevated CaSR levels in TM in testes with UPEC-induced orchitis may impair testosterone synthesis through the activation of the NLRP3 pathway and PK2 is an upstream regulatory protein of CaSR. Our research further shows the underlying mechanisms of inflammation-related male infertility and provides anti-inflammatory therapeutic targets for male infertility.

The predicted wind power in coastal waters is an important factor when planning and developing offshore wind farms. The stochastic wind field challenges the accuracy of these predictions. Using single-point wind measurements, most previous studies have focused on the prediction of short-term wind power, ranging from minutes to several days. Longer-term wind power predictions would better support decision-making related to offshore wind power balance management and reserve capacities. In addition, larger-scale wind power predictions, based on gridded wind field data, would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal variations of wind energy resources. In this study, a spatiotemporal ordinary kriging model was developed to predict the offshore wind power density on a monthly basis using the cross-calibrated multiplatform gridded wind field data. The spatiotemporal variations of wind power density were directly quantified through the development of spatiotemporal variograms that integrated spatial and temporal distances. The proposed model achieved a notable performance with an overall R2 of 0.94 and a relative prediction error of 16.35% in the validation experiment of predicting the monthly wind power density from 2013 in the coastal waters of China’s Guangdong Province. Using this model, the spatial distributions of wind power density along Guangdong’s coastal waters at monthly, seasonal, and annual time-scales from 2013 were accurately predicted. The experiment results demonstrated the remarkable potential of the spatiotemporal ordinary kriging model to provide reliable long-term prediction for offshore wind energy resources.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread widely and persistently over 100 countries. New challenges have occurred in the perioperative management of airway and anesthesia in children diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection. According to current publications and to our own experiences in anesthesia management for cases with SARS-CoV-2 suspected, we reviewed concerns about the perioperative prevention of SARS-CoV-2 to medical staff and the anesthesia strategy to the patient.

In this study, we designed and synthesized a simple probe 2-(8-((8-methoxyquinolin-2-yl)methoxy)quinolin-2-yl)benzo[

Background: Mastitis results in great economic loss to the dairy goat industry. Many approaches have attempted to decrease the morbidity associated with this disease, and among these, transgenic strategies have been recognized as a crucial development. A previous mammalian study reports that interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) has potential anti-bacterial bioactivity against infection in vitro; however, its capacity in vivo is ambiguous. Results: In this study, we first constructed targeting and homologous recombination vectors (containing the IFN-γ gene) and then transferred the vectors into goat mammary gland epithelial cells (GMECs). Enzyme digestion and sequencing analysis indicated that the vectors used in this study were built correctly. Subsequently, monoclonal cells were selected using puromycin and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test indicated that IFN-γ was correctly inserted downstream of the casein promoter. Monoclonal cells were then assessed for reducible expression, and reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blot tests confirmed that monoclonal cells could express IFN-γ. Finally, anti-bacterial capacity was evaluated using bacterial counts and flow cytometry analysis. Decreased bacterial counts and cell apoptosis rates in transgenic GMECs demonstrated that the secretion of IFN-γ could inhibit bacterial proliferation and reduce the risk of mammary infection in goats. Conclusions: Secretion of IFN-γ could inhibit bacterial proliferation and reduce the risk of mammary infection in goats.