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Abstract Background Optimal sagittal alignment of the femoral prosthesis is critical to the success of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). While robotic-assisted TKA can improve alignment accuracy, the efficacy of default femoral alignment versus individualized alignment remains under scrutiny. This study aimed to compare the differences in prosthetic alignment, anatomical restoration, and clinical outcomes between individualized femoral sagittal alignment and default sagittal alignment in robotic-assisted TKA. Methods In a prospective randomised controlled trial, 113 patients (120 knees) underwent robotic-assisted TKA were divided into two groups: 61 with individualized femoral flexion (individualized alignment group) and 59 with default 3–5° flexion (default alignment group). The individualized alignment was based on the distal femoral sagittal anteverted angle (DFSAA), defined as the angle between the mechanical and distal anatomical axes of the femur. The radiographic and clinical outcomes were compared. Results Despite similar postoperative femoral flexion angles between groups (P = 0.748), the individualized alignment group exhibited significantly lower incidences of femoral prosthesis extension and higher rates of optimal 0–3° prosthesis flexion (9.8% vs. 27.1%, P = 0.014,78.7% vs. 55.9%, p = 0.008, respectively). The individualized alignment group also demonstrated more favourable changes in sagittal anatomy, with higher maintenance of postoperative anterior femoral offset within 1 mm (54.1% vs. 33.9%, P = 0.026) and posterior condylar offset within 1 mm and 2 mm (44.3% vs. 25.4%, p = 0.031,73.8% vs. 50.8%, p = 0.010, respectively). Although slight improvement in the Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score (HSS) at three months was observed (P = 0.045), it did not reach a minimal clinically important difference. Conclusion Individualized tailoring of femoral sagittal alignment in robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA) enhances prosthetic alignment and anatomical restoration, suggesting potential improvements in postoperative outcomes.

Abstract Coordination cages have been widely reported to bind a variety of guests, which are useful for chemical separation. Although the use of cages in the solid state benefits the recycling, the flexibility, dynamicity, and metal-ligand bond reversibility of solid-state cages are poor, preventing efficient guest encapsulation. Here we report a type of coordination cage-integrated solid materials that can be swelled into gel in water. The material is prepared through incorporation of an anionic FeII 4L6 cage as the counterion of a cationic poly(ionic liquid) (MOC@PIL). The immobilized cages within MOC@PILs have been found to greatly affect the swelling ability of MOC@PILs and thus the mechanical properties. Importantly, upon swelling, the uptake of water provides an ideal microenvironment within the gels for the immobilized cages to dynamically move and flex that leads to excellent solution-level guest binding performances. This concept has enabled the use of MOC@PILs as efficient adsorbents for the removal of pollutants from water and for the purification of toluene and cyclohexane. Importantly, MOC@PILs can be regenerated through a deswelling strategy along with the recycling of the extracted guests.

Summary: Dysregulated innate immune signaling is linked to preleukemic conditions and myeloid malignancies. However, it is unknown whether sustained innate immune signaling contributes to malignant transformation. Here we show that cell-intrinsic innate immune signaling driven by miR-146a deletion (miR-146aKO), a commonly deleted gene in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), cooperates with mutant RUNX1 (RUNX1mut) to initially induce marrow failure and features of MDS. However, miR-146aKO hematopoietic stem and/or progenitor cells (HSPCs) expressing RUNX1mut eventually progress to a fatal AML. miR-146aKO HSPCs exhaust during serial transplantation, while expression of RUNX1mut restored their hematopoietic cell function. Thus, HSPCs exhibiting dysregulated innate immune signaling require a second hit to develop AML. Inhibiting the dysregulated innate immune pathways with a TRAF6-UBE2N inhibitor suppressed leukemic miR-146aKO/RUNX1mut HSPCs, highlighting the necessity of TRAF6-dependent cell-intrinsic innate immune signaling in initiating and maintaining AML. These findings underscore the critical role of dysregulated cell-intrinsic innate immune signaling in driving preleukemic cells toward AML progression.

Abstract Background Altered axial biomechanics of the knee are recognized as a risk factor for non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. However, the relationship of knee and segmental torsion to non-contact ACL and combined anterolateral ligament (ALL) injury is unclear. This study aims to determine the relationship of knee and segmental torsion to non-contact ACL injury and to explore their relationship with ALL injuries. Methods We divided 122 patients with arthroscopically confirmed non-contact ACL injuries into an ACL injury group (isolated ACL injury, 63 patients) and an ACL + ALL injury group (ACL combined with ALL injury,59 patients). Additionally, 90 normal patients with similar age, gender and body mass index (BMI) were matched as a control group. The tibial tubercle-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance, distal femoral torsion (DFT), posterior femoral condylar torsion (PFCT) and proximal tibial torsion (PTT) were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We assessed the differences between the groups using an independent samples t test and utilized receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to determine the cut-off value for the increased risk of ACL injury. Results In patients with ACL injury, the measurements of the TT-TG (11.8 ± 3.1 mm), DFT (7.7° ± 3.5°) and PFCT (3.6° ± 1.3°) were significantly higher compared to the control group (9.1 ± 2.4 mm, 6.3° ± 2.7° and 2.8° ± 1.3°, respectively; P

Cold storage is one of the most commonly used ways to store pomegranates (Punica granatum L.). Husk browning can occur during cold storage due to phenolic metabolism and energy decay. Three pomegranate cultivars grown in Shaanxi: the introduced cultivar ‘Tunisia soft seed’, the traditional cultivar ‘Jingpitian’ and the newly bred cultivar ‘Lishanhong’ were used to explore the relationship between husk browning and phenolic and energy metabolism under storage conditions of (4.0 ± 0.5) ℃ and 85%–90% relative humidity, and the storage characteristics of these cultivars were compared. The results showed that with the extension of storage time, browning index increased, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity increased at first and decreased later, 2,2’-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline 6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) cation radical scavenging capacity, total phenol and flavonoid contents fluctuated only slightly, and anthocyanin content increased at first and then decreased for all cultivars. Among them, the contents of total phenols, total flavonoids and anthocyanins were highest in ‘Tunisia soft seed’ pomegranates. During storage, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity remained lowest, and phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) activity remained highest in ‘Tunisia soft seed’ pomegranates. Peroxidase (POD) activity was always highest in ‘Jingpitian’ pomegranates. In addition, ‘Tunisia soft seed’ pomegranate husk maintained higher adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) contents and energy charge, as well as higher Mg2+-ATPase and H+-ATPase activities during storage. The correlation analysis showed that the browning index of ‘Jingpitian’ pomegranate husk, which was highest among the three cultivars, was significantly positively correlated with total phenol and flavonoid contents, POD and PAL activities, and ATP and ADP contents (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01); the browning index of ‘Tunisia soft seed’ pomegranate husk, which was lowest, was significantly positively correlated with POD activity and the content of adenosine monophosphate (AMP) (P < 0.01); and the browning index of ‘Lishanhong’ pomegranate husk, which was in the middle, was significantly positively correlated with total phenol and AMP contents (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively) but significantly negatively correlated with Mg2+-ATPase activity (P < 0.01). Principal component analysis (PCA) showed significant quality differences between ‘Tunisia soft seed’ pomegranates and the two other cultivars. The above findings demonstrated that the browning degree of pomegranate husk under cold storage conditions varied among cultivars and was related to phenolic and energy metabolism.

The purpose of this paper was to study the application of a fresh preservation mode of composite film-photodynamic technology to delay the quality deterioration of Litopenaeus vannamei. Composite films (PsC and PsG) were prepared by loading curcumin and curcumin/chitosan granules, respectively, onto chitosan as the film-forming matrix. For the preservation of Litopenaeus vannamei, the photosensitive characteristics of two composite films and their mediated photodynamic sterilization (PsC-L/PsG-L) were explored. Litopenaeus vannamei was covered by PsC films and PsG films, respectively, and kept them at 4 ℃ for 0~4 days after irradiating them with a 420 nm LED light source for 10 minutes. Throughout the storage period, the preservation impact of the composite films was examined comprehensively by assessing the changes in physicochemical indicators such as total bacterial colony, volatile salt nitrogen, pH, texture, and free amino acids in Litopenaeus vannamei. Results indicated that PsG-L and PsC-L might alter the development of microorganism of Litopenaeus vannamei over a 4 day storage period. PsG-L inhibited the increase of TVB-N and pH in Litopenaeus vannamei, delayed texture softening, and had a greater preservation effect than PsC-L. Over a 2 day storage period, PsG-L treatment was more successful than PsC-L in preserving fresh amino acids and reducing the amount of bitter amino acids. Both composite films exhibit photosensitive qualities and photodynamic inhibition of freshness induced by a light source with a wavelength of 420 nm, and they effectively preserve Litopenaeus vannamei. These findings give support for the promotion and deployment of photodynamic non-thermal sterilizing technology in the preservation of aquatic products.

Accurate prediction of outgoing moisture content is the key to achieving energy-saving and efficient technological transformation of drying. This study relies on a grain drying simulation experiment system which combined counter and current drying sections to design corn kernel drying experiments. This study obtains 18 kinds of temperature and humidity variables during the drying process and uses Uninformative Variable Elimination (UVE) method to screen sensitive variables affecting the outgoing moisture content. Subsequently, six prediction models for the outgoing corn moisture content were developed, innovatively incorporating Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). The results show that eight sensitive variables have been screened to predict the moisture content of outgoing corn. The sensitive variables effectively reduced the redundancy and multicollinearity of data in the MLR model and improved the coefficient of determination (R2) of ELM and LSTM models by 0.02 and 0.05. The MLR prediction model established based on the full set of temperature and humidity data has an R2 of 0.910 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.881%, while the UVE-ELM and UVE-LSTM prediction models achieve a better fitting effect and prediction accuracy. The UVE-LSTM model is set with a batch size of 30, a learning rate of 0.01, and 100 iterations. For the training set of UVE-LSTM, the R2 value is 0.931 and the RMSE value is 0.711%. The UVE-ELM model, with sigmoid as the activation function and 14 neurons configured, runs fast and has the best prediction accuracy. The R2 values of UVE-ELM training set and validation set are 0.943 and 0.946, respectively, and the RMSEs are 0.544% and 0.581%. The models proposed in this study provide data reference and technical support for process optimization and automation control of the corn drying process.

Objective To investigate perioperative management and prognosis in patients aged≥80 years old undergoing non-cardiac surgery. Methods Clinical data of 828 patients aged≥80 years old undergoing non-cardiac surgery were retrospectively analyzed. Intraoperative hypotension， accumulated time of hypotension， operation time， intraoperative blood loss， postoperative ICU admission， length of ICU stay， length of hospital stay， cost of care， perioperative complications need to be treated， and perioperative death were recorded and analyzed. Results The mean age of 828 patients was （84±4） years old. All cases were classified as American Society of Anesthesiologist （ASA） gradeⅡ-Ⅴ. Postoperative complications occurred in 111 patients （13.4%）， and postoperative death occurred in 24 patients （2.9%）. The incidence of postoperative complications and death in thoracic， neuro-，and vascular surgery was 29% and 17%， the highest among various types of operations （all P < 0.05）. Among patients with different ASA grades， the incidence of postoperative complications and death in patients with ASA gradeⅣand V was significantly higher than that in their counterparts with ASA gradeⅡ（both P < 0.001）. The selection of anesthesia approach did not affect the incidence of postoperative complications and death in different operations except thoracic， neuro-， and vascular surgery under general anesthesia （P > 0.05）. Compared with patients with intraoperative systolic pressure of 0.05）. Conclusions Patients aged≥80 years old have high incidence of postoperative complications and death rates， which is probably associated with high-risk operation and intraoperative hypotension， especially systolic hypotension of < 90 mmHg enduring for≥10 min.

Abstract Background Gut microbiota have a complex role on the survivability, digestive physiology, production, and growth performance in animals. Recent studies have emphasized the effects of prebiotics therapy on the gut disease, but the relationship between elephant gut-related diseases and prebiotics remains elusive. Here, a case study was undertaken to evaluate the mechanism of inulin treatment in colic in Asian elephant (Elephas maximus Linnaeus). Methods Fecal samples were collected from a sick elephant and four healthy elephants. Analysis of microbial profile was carried out by 16S rRNA sequencing, and the short chain fatty acids were tested by gas chromatography. The physiological function of “inulin-microbiota” of elephant was verified in mice by fecal microbial transplantation (FMT). The expression of related proteins was determined by Western blotting and qPCR. Results (1) Eating inulin can cure gut colic of the sick elephant and changed gut microbiota. (2) It was found that “inulin microbiota” from the post-treatment elephants can promote the proliferation of intestinal cells, increase the utilization of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), maintain intestinal barrier, and reduce the inflammation in mice. (3) The mechanism was inulin—gut microbiota—SCFAs—immune barrier. Conclusions Inulin contributed to rehabilitate the gut microbiota and gut immune barrier of the elephant with colic. This provides reasonable verification for using prebiotics to treat the colic in captive elephants. Prebiotics will foresure play an increasingly important role in disease prevention and treatment of captive animals in the future. Graphical Abstract Video Abstract

Abstract Background Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a prevalent and disabling cause of low back and leg pain in elderly people and nerve root sedimentation sign (NRSS) has been demonstrated to have high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing LSS in selected patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnosis of LSS and the predictive value of NRSS. Methods The clinical and imaging data of 176 patients diagnosed with LSS and 156 patients with non-specific low back pain (LBP) were analyzed retrospectively. Transverse magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the narrowest spinal canal in all patients were acquired and graded by two experienced doctors using the Braz classification, Schizas classification and Chen Jia classification. Receiver operating curve (ROC) was used to compare the diagnostic efficacy of the three classifications. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were established to predict the surgical indications of LSS patients. Result The diagnostic efficacy of Schizas classification (AUC:0.943; 95%CI:0.918,0.969) and Chen Jia classification (AUC:0.942; 95%CI:0.918,0.966) was significantly higher than that of Braz classification (AUC:0.853; 95%CI:0.808,0.898). Chen Jia classification had the highest correlation with the degree of dural sac cross-sectional area (DCSA) stenosis. In the multivariate analysis of LSS surgical indications, Chen Jia classification (odds ratio [OR], 2.127; 95%CI:1.596,2.835), DCSA (OR,0.398; 95%CI:0.169,0.802) and intermittent claudication (OR,9.481; 95%CI:3.439,26.142) were associated with surgical indications. Conclusion Among the three types, it is found that Chen Jia classification has better diagnostic efficacy in differentiating LSS from LBP. In addition, Chen Jia classification is simple to be implemented in clinical practice and has high clinical application value. Hence, Chen Jia classification can be used as an effective surgical treatment indicator for LSS patients.

Background Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a disease affecting wheat spikes caused by some Fusarium species and leads to cases of severe yield reduction and seed contamination. Identifying resistance genes/QTLs from wheat germplasm may help to improve FHB resistance in wheat production. Methods Our study evaluated 205 elite winter wheat cultivars for FHB resistance. A high-density 90K SNP array was used for genotyping the panel. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) from cultivars from three different environments was performed using a mixed linear model (MLM). Results Sixty-six significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) were identified (P

Summary: Homeothermy is crucial for mammals. Postnatal growth is the key period for young offspring to acquire gut microbiota. Although gut microbiota may affect mammal thermogenesis, the impact of developmental regulation of gut microbiota on the ability of young pups to produce heat remains unclear. Antibiotics were used to interfere with the establishment of gut microbiota during the development of Brandt’s voles, and their thermogenic development and regulatory pathways were determined. Deprivation of microbiota by antibiotics inhibits the development of thermogenesis in pups. Butyric acid and bile acid, as metabolites of gut microbiota, participated in the thermoregulation of pups. We propose that gut microbiota promote the development of thermoregulation through the butyric acid-free fatty acid receptor-2-uncoupling protein-1 or the deoxycholic acid-Takeda-G-protein-receptor-5-uncoupling protein-1 pathway in pups. These results show a relationship between gut microbiota and thermogenesis and expand the mechanism of postnatal development of thermogenesis in small mammals.

Genome assembles for Northern three-toed jerboa, Siberian jerboa, Midday jird and Desert hamster and provides insights into similarities and differences in mechanisms for desert adaptation.

Abstract Breeding new wheat varieties with salt resistance is one of the best ways to solve a constraint on the sustainability and expansion of wheat cultivation. Therefore, understanding the molecular components or genes related to salt tolerance must contribute to the cultivation of salt-tolerant varieties. The present study used a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population to genetically dissect the effects of different salt stress concentrations on wheat seed germination and seedling traits using two quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping methods. A total of 31 unconditional and 11 conditional QTLs for salt tolerance were identified on 11 chromosomes explaining phenotypic variation (PVE) ranging from 2.01 to 65.76%. Of these, 15 major QTLs were found accounting for more than 10% PVE. QTL clusters were detected on chromosomes 2A and 3B in the marker intervals ‘wPt-8328 and wPt-2087’ and ‘wPt-666008 and wPt-3620’, respectively, involving more than one salt tolerance trait. QRdw3B and QSfw3B.2 were most consistent in two or more salt stress treatments. 16 candidate genes associated with salt tolerance were predicted in wheat. These results could be useful to improve salt tolerance by marker-assisted selection (MAS) and shed new light on understanding the genetic basis of salt tolerance in wheat.

The effectiveness of rock bolting in ground control has been extensively investigated, mainly for resin based systems. Alternative coupling materials are needed to have good mechanical performance and to reduce the economic impact. This study proposed a new bolting system exploiting steel particles as coupling material. The applicability of this system was assessed by laboratory and field pullout tests, assisted by digital imaging correlation (DIC), infrared thermography (IRT) and acoustic emission (AE). The results indicated that, for a 20 mm diameter bolt, the suitable steel particle size and corresponding inner diameter of borehole were 1.4 and 28 mm, respectively. For bolts installed in steel tubes, the particles improved the loading capacity compared to the resin bonded ones. Additional pullout tests on cement blocks indicated that steel particles can be effective for hard rock, whilst resin was a better choice for bolting of soft rock. Similar understanding was obtained by pullout tests in engineering fields, which demonstrated that the steel particles coupled bolts can provide favorable effects in hard rock mass, while the effects were negligible when installed in extremely soft coal mass. The wide set of multi-technique measurements helped to understand the mechanisms involved in the performance of the bolting system with coupling steel particles.

Abstract Background Some coronary artery angiography (CAG) scores are associated with the no-reflow phenomenon after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, quality evidence regarding the association between the CAG scores and microvascular injury is still needed. Our study aimed to validate the ability of the CAG scores in predicting microvascular obstruction (MVO) detected by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Methods From October 2020 to October 2021, 141 consecutive patients with acute STEMI who underwent primary PCI and CMR were retrospectively reviewed. CMR imaging was performed between 3 and 7 days after PCI. The patients were divided into MVO and non-MVO group based on the CMR results. Three CAG scores (SYNTAX score, SYNTAX II score and Gensini score) were used to assess the severity of coronary artery atherosclerotic burden. Results A total of 122 patients were included (mean age 60.6 ± 12.8 years). MVO occurred in 51 patients (41.8%). Patients with MVO had higher SYNTAX scores, SYNTAX II scores and Gensini scores than those without MVO (all p

While liquid-liquid interface offers better contact and charge transfer potential than solid-based counterparts, fluidity still poses challenges for their application. Here, authors show that charge transfer exists in aqueous two-phase systems and propose a nanogenerator design based on the immiscible aqueous-aqueous interface.

HPV (Human papillomavirus) affects 600,000 people worldwide each year. Almost all cervical cancers are associated with a past HPV infection. In particular, the positivity to the high-risk type HPV16 is detected in most of the invasive cervical cancers. FDA has approved prophylactic vaccines that protect against new HPV16 infections, but do not induce immunity in those patients with established infections or neoplasms. To date, no therapeutic vaccine targeting HPV16-associated lesions has been authorized. We have developed an mRNA-based vaccine against the HPV16 late oncoproteins E6 and E7, which are abundantly and exclusively expressed in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs), a stage of the cervical disease that precedes the progression to carcinoma. Our in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that the translated mRNA is functional and elicits an antigen-specific adaptive immune response. Upon immunization with the vaccine, mice with HPV16+ lesions exhibited tumor growth inhibition, extension of lifespan, and development of a protective immune memory. In light of these results and the remarkable clinical success of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV2, we believe that our mRNA-based therapeutic vaccine has the potential to offer a non-invasive treatment alternative to the current standard of care for HPV16+ HSILs.

Protein, starch, and their components are important for wheat grain yield and end-products, which are affected by wheat grain development. Therefore, QTL mapping and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of grain protein content (GPC), glutenin macropolymer content (GMP), amylopectin content (GApC), and amylose content (GAsC) were performed on wheat grain development at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after anthesis (DAA) in two environments using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of 256 stable lines and a panel of 205 wheat accessions. A total of 29 unconditional QTLs, 13 conditional QTLs, 99 unconditional marker−trait associations (MTAs), and 14 conditional MTAs significantly associated (p < 10−4) with four quality traits were found to be distributed on 15 chromosomes, with the phenotypic variation explained (PVE) ranging from 5.35% to 39.86%. Among these genomic variations, three major QTLs [QGPC3B, QGPC2A, and QGPC(S3|S2)3B] and SNP clusters on the 3A and 6B chromosomes were detected for GPC, and the SNP TA005876-0602 was stably expressed during the three periods in the natural population. The QGMP3B locus was detected five times in three developmental stages in two environments with 5.89%–33.62% PVE, and SNP clusters for GMP content were found on the 3A and 3B chromosomes. For GApC, the QGApC3B.1 locus had the highest PVE of 25.69%, and SNP clusters were found on chromosomes 4A, 4B, 5B, 6B, and 7B. Four major QTLs of GAsC were detected at 21 and 28 DAA. Most interestingly, both QTL mapping and GWAS analysis indicated that four chromosomes (3B, 4A, 6B, and 7A) were mainly involved in the development of protein, GMP, amylopectin, and amylose synthesis. Of these, the wPt-5870–wPt-3620 marker interval on chromosome 3B seemed to be most important because it played an important role in the synthesis of GMP and amylopectin before 7 DAA, in the synthesis of protein and GMP from 14 to 21 DAA, and in the development of GApC and GAsC from 21 to 28 DAA. Using the annotation information of IWGSC Chinese Spring RefSeq v1.1 genome assembly, we predicted 28 and 69 candidate genes for major loci from QTL mapping and GWAS, respectively. Most of them have multiple effects on protein and starch synthesis during grain development. These results provide new insights and information for the potential regulatory network between grain protein and starch synthesis.

When an organism detects decreases in their core body temperature, the hypothalamus, the main thermoregulatory center, triggers compensatory responses. These responses include vasomotor changes to prevent heat loss and physiological mechanisms (e.g., shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis) for heat production. Both types of changes require the participation of peripheral thermoreceptors, afferent signaling to the spinal cord and hypothalamus, and efferent pathways to motor and/or sympathetic neurons. The present review aims to analyze the scientific evidence of the hypothalamic control of hypothermia and the central and peripheral changes that are triggered in domestic animals.

Abstract Dynamic high‐pressure microfluidization (DHPM) has been demonstrated as an effective method to increase the solubility of proteins in water‐insoluble fraction of edible bird's nests (EBNIP). Here, we further explored the effects of DHPM treatment on the physicochemical and digestive properties of EBNIP. The results showed that DHPM treatment led to the increases in fat absorption capacities, foaming properties, and emulsifying properties of EBNIP with decreased water‐holding capacity being observed. This might result from the mechanical force during DHPM treatment can unfold the protein molecular chain, destroy the hydrogen bonds and inter‐linkage between protein molecules. In addition, the EBNIP samples with DHPM treatment exhibited increased in vitro digestibility, the degree of hydrolysis and free sialic acid release in in vitro gastrointestinal digestion assay. In conclusion, DHPM could be applied as a novel and effective processing method to modify protein macromolecules in production of edible bird's nest (EBN)‐related food.

Specific anatomical characteristics make the porcine species especially sensitive to extreme temperature changes, predisposing them to pathologies and even death due to thermal stress. Interest in improving animal welfare and porcine productivity has led to the development of various lines of research that seek to understand the effect of certain environmental conditions on productivity and the impact of implementing strategies designed to mitigate adverse effects. The non-invasive infrared thermography technique is one of the tools most widely used to carry out these studies, based on detecting changes in microcirculation. However, evaluations using this tool require reliable thermal windows; this can be challenging because several factors can affect the sensitivity and specificity of the regions selected. This review discusses the thermal windows used with domestic pigs and the association of thermal changes in these regions with the thermoregulatory capacity of piglets and hogs.

Abstract Background Precocious puberty is frequently associated with obesity, which will lead to long-term effects, especially on growth and reproduction. However, the effect of precocious puberty on children's neurodevelopment is still unknown. Objectives Here we evaluated the effect of High fat diet (HFD)-induced precocious puberty on neurodevelopment and behaviors of animals. Methods Ovaries sections were stained with hematoxylin–eosin (H&E) using standard techniques. Behavioral tests included elevated plus maze (EPM), open field exploration, Y-Maze, marble burying test, and novelty- suppressed feeding. The expression of genes related to puberty and neural development was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Results Our results showed HFD-induced precocious puberty increased the risk-taking behavior and decreased memory of mice. The content of Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and Arginine vasopressin (AVP) in hypothalamus were higher in HFD group than control group. Although the recovery of normal diet will gradually restore the body fat and other physiological index of mice, the anxiety increases in adult mice, and the memory is also damaged. Conclusions These findings describe the sensitivity of mice brain to HFD-induced precocious puberty and the irrecoverability of neural damage caused by precocious puberty. Therefore, avoiding HFD in childhood is important to prevent precocious puberty and neurodevelopmental impairment in mice. Graphic abstract

Hypothermia is one of the most common causes of mortality in neonates, and it could be developed after birth because the uterus temperature is more elevated than the extrauterine temperature. Neonates use diverse mechanisms to thermoregulate, such as shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis. These strategies can be more efficient in some species, but not in others, i.e., altricials, which have the greatest difficulty with achieving thermoneutrality. In addition, there are anatomical and neurological differences in mammals, which may present different distributions and amounts of brown fat. This article aims to discuss the neuromodulation mechanisms of thermoregulation and the importance of brown fat in the thermogenesis of newborn mammals, emphasizing the analysis of the biochemical, physiological, and genetic factors that determine the distribution, amount, and efficiency of this energy resource in newborns of different species. It has been concluded that is vital to understand and minimize hypothermia causes in newborns, which is one of the main causes of mortality in neonates. This would be beneficial for both animals and producers.

Pain assessment in domestic animals has gained importance in recent years due to the recognition of the physiological, behavioral, and endocrine consequences of acute pain on animal production, welfare, and animal model validity. Current approaches to identifying acute pain mainly rely on behavioral-based scales, quantifying pain-related biomarkers, and the use of devices monitoring sympathetic activity. Infrared thermography is an alternative that could be used to correlate the changes in the superficial temperature with other tools and thus be an additional or alternate acute pain assessment marker. Moreover, its non-invasiveness and the objective nature of its readout make it potentially very valuable. However, at the current time, it is not in widespread use as an assessment strategy. The present review discusses scientific evidence for infrared thermography as a tool to evaluate pain, limiting its use to monitor acute pain in pathological processes and invasive procedures, as well as its use for perioperative monitoring in domestic animals.

Hypothermia is one factor associated with mortality in newborn ruminants due to the drastic temperature change upon exposure to the extrauterine environment in the first hours after birth. Ruminants are precocial whose mechanisms for generating heat or preventing heat loss involve genetic characteristics, the degree of neurodevelopment at birth and environmental aspects. These elements combine to form a more efficient mechanism than those found in altricial species. Although the degree of neurodevelopment is an important advantage for these species, their greater mobility helps them to search for the udder and consume colostrum after birth. However, anatomical differences such as the distribution of adipose tissue or the presence of type II muscle fibers could lead to the understanding that these species use their energy resources more efficiently for heat production. The introduction of unconventional ruminant species, such as the water buffalo, has led to rethinking other characteristics like the skin thickness or the coat type that could intervene in the thermoregulation capacity of the newborn. Implementing tools to analyze species-specific characteristics that help prevent a critical decline in temperature is deemed a fundamental strategy for avoiding the adverse effects of a compromised thermoregulatory function. Although thermography is a non-invasive method to assess superficial temperature in several non-human animal species, in newborn ruminants there is limited information about its application, making it necessary to discuss the usefulness of this tool. This review aims to analyze the effects of hypothermia in newborn ruminants, their thermoregulation mechanisms that compensate for this condition, and the application of infrared thermography (IRT) to identify cases with hypothermia.

Precocious puberty mostly stems from endocrine disorders. However, more and more studies show that a high-fat diet (HFD) is closely related to precocious puberty, but its mechanism is unknown. Since gut microbiota is associated with hormone secretion and obesity, it inspires us to detect the mechanism of gut microbiota in triggering precocious puberty. The model of precocious puberty was established by feeding female mice with an HFD from 21 days old. After puberty, the serum hormone levels, gut microbiome sequencing, and metabolomics were collected. DNA was extracted from feces, and the V3–V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified, followed by microbial composition analysis. Subsequently, associations between precocious puberty and the microbiota were determined. We found that (1) HFD after weaning caused precocious puberty, increased serum estradiol, leptin, deoxycholic acid (DCA), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in the hypothalamus; (2) Through correlation analysis, we found that GnRH was positively correlated with Desulfovibrio, Lachnoclostridium, GCA-900066575, Streptococcus, Anaerotruncus, and Bifidobacterium, suggesting that these bacteria may have a role in promoting sexual development. (3) “HFD-microbiota” transplantation promoted the precocious puberty of mice. (4) Estrogen changes the composition and proportion of gut microbiota and promotes precocious puberty. Therefore, the effect of HFD on precocious puberty is regulated by the interaction of gut microbiota and hormones.

Catalysts play a critical role in producing most industrial chemicals and are essential to environmental remediation. Under the demands of sustainable development, environment protection, and cost-related factors, it has been suggested that catalysts are sufficiently separable and conveniently recyclable in the catalysis process. Magnetite (Fe3O4) nanomaterials provide a possible way to achieve this goal, due to their magnetism, chemical stability, low toxicity, economic viability, etc. Therefore, Fe3O4-based materials are emerging as an important solid support to load heterogeneous catalysts and immobilize homogeneous catalysts. Moreover, the addition of magnetic character to catalysts will not only make their recovery much easier but also possibly endow catalysts with desirable properties, such as magnetothermal conversion, Lewis acid, mimetic enzyme activity, and Fenton activity. The following review comprises a short survey of the most recent reports in the catalytic applications of Fe3O4-based magnetic materials. It contains seven sections, an introduction into the theme, applications of Fe3O4-based magnetic materials in environmental remediation, electrocatalysis, organic synthesis, catalytic synthesis of biodiesel, and cancer treatment, and conclusions about the reported research with perspectives for future developments. Elucidation of the functions and mechanisms of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) in these applications may benefit the acquisition of robust and affordable protocols, leading to catalysts with good catalytic activity and enhanced recoverability.

Abstract Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) is a rare tumor of intermediate malignancy. Treatment options for unresectable and/or metastatic tumors are very limited. Immunotherapy with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors may be worth exploring. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of PD-L1 in AFHs. PD-L1 expression was assessed on 36 AFHs from 36 pediatric patients by immunohistochemical staining of PD-L1 (clone 22C3). Positivity was defined as membranous expression in ≥ 1% of either tumor or immune cells. The correlations between PD-L1 expression and clinicopathologic features were assessed. Two patients had lymph node metastasis. All patients underwent surgical resection; three of them also had systemic chemotherapy. Three patients had recurrence after initial resection; all patients were alive with a median follow-up of 2.5 years. Overall, twenty-two (61%) tumors were positively stained for PD-L1 and positivity was seen on both tumor and immune cells in eighteen of the 22 tumors. A positive correlation was found between tumor cell PD-L1 expression and CD8+ T-cell infiltration. There were no statistically significant differences between the status of PD-L1 expression and the clinicopathological features assessed. PD-L1 expression was identified in 61% of AFHs with a predominantly adaptive pattern. Our findings provide a rationale for future studies evaluating the potential of checkpoint immunotherapy for patients with unresectable and/or metastatic tumor.

Gut microbial communities of animals play key roles in host evolution, while the relationship between gut microbiota and host evolution in Tibetan birds remains unknown. Herein, we sequenced the gut microbiota of 67 wild birds of seven species dwelling in the Tibetan wetlands. We found an obvious species-specific structure of gut microbiota among these plateau birds whose habitats were overlapped. Different from plateau mammals, there was no strict synergy between the hierarchical tree of gut microbial community and species phylogeny. In brown-headed gulls (Larus brunnicephalus) as an example, the structure of gut microbiota differed in different habitats, and the relative abundance of bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Paracoccus, Lachnospiraceae, and Vibrio, significantly correlated with altitude. Finally, we found various pathogenic bacteria in the birds of these plateau wetlands, and the interspecific differences were related to their diet and living environments.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of methionine (Met) deficiency in the rearing period on the growth performance, amino acids metabolism, intestinal development and gut microbiome of egg-laying chicks and the continuous effects on the performance, egg quality, and serum amino acids metabolism of the subsequent development process. Three hundred sixty one-day-old chicks were randomly divided into two groups and fed on a basal diet (NC group, Met 0.46%) and Met deficiency diet (Met- group, Met 0.27%). Each group included six replicates with 30 chicks per replicate. The trial lasted 6 weeks (0–6 weeks), both groups were fed the same basal diet which met the needs of Met during the observation period (7–24 weeks). Results showed that Met deficiency significantly decreased (P < 0.05) body weight (BW), average daily weight gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and tibia length (TL) compared to the NC group during the trial period (0–6 weeks). Also, Met deficiency dramatically increased (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the trial and observation period (7–24 weeks). In addition, during the observation period, the BW and ADG were decreased (P < 0.05) in the Met- group. Moreover, Met- group decreased (P < 0.05) villi height and villi height/crypt depth ratio in jejunum at 6th weeks. In addition, the concentrations of serum main free amino acids (FAA) in the Met- group were significantly increased (P < 0.05) at 6th weeks, while were decreased at 16th weeks. Based on the α-diversity and PCoA analysis in β-diversity, there were no significant differences in the cecal microbial composition between NC and Met- groups. However, the LEfSe analysis revealed that differential genera were enriched in the NC or Met- groups. The Haugh unit, shell thickness and egg production in the Met- group were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than in the NC group. In conclusion, these results revealed that dietary supplementation of appropriate Met could substantially improve the growth performance, host amino acid metabolism and intestinal development and continuously improve the laying performance and thus boost the health of growing hens.

Image denoising is a basic problem in image processing. An important task of image denoising is to preserve the significant geometric features such as edges and textures while filtering out noise. So far, this is still a problem to be further studied. In this paper, we firstly introduce an edge detection function based on the Gaussian filtering operator and then analyze the filtering characteristic of the fractional derivative operator. On the basis, we establish the spatially adaptive fractional edge-preserving denoising model in the variational framework, discuss the existence and uniqueness of our proposed model solution and derive the nonlinear fractional Euler-Lagrange equation for solving our proposed model. This forms a fractional order extension of the first and second order variational approaches. Finally, we apply the proposed method to the synthetic images and real seismic data denoising to verify the effectiveness of our method and compare the experimental results of our method with the related state-of-the-art methods. Experimental results illustrate that our proposed method can not only improve the signal to noise ratio (SNR) but also adaptively preserve the structural information of an image compared with other contrastive methods. Our proposed method can also be applied to remote sensing imaging, medical imaging and so on.

Due to the huge scale of the Internet of Health Things (IoHT), various research methods currently applied in the field of Internet of Health Things are limited to the technical problems themselves, which lack a macro grasp of the entire Internet of Things (IoT) system. The verification of the proposed technical scheme requires the purchase of a large number of hardware devices, but as a result, only relatively limited research models can be constructed, which makes the entire system long management cycle and high management cost. Based on the research of particle swarm optimization algorithm, this paper finds its shortcomings and makes corresponding improvements. A new improved method of particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed. By introducing the method of average particle distance and population distribution entropy in the algorithm search process, the inertia weight is dynamically changed. This is conducive to the improvement of the optimization efficiency of the particle swarm optimization algorithm, and has a good optimization accuracy. A IoHTs modeling method for component collaboration is proposed, and the IoHTs component library is designed according to the proposed modeling method. At the same time, this article discusses the XModel modeling simulation platform, and builds a IoHTs component model based on this platform, and has completed the verification of the validity of the proposed modeling method and the feasibility of the IoHTs IPv6 communication scheme. The component library designed in the XModel platform is based on the functions of IoT devices, and the components have more complete network communication features. The XModel platform specifically customizes the CMIoT component library, and supports the continuous expansion of the component library and the continuous refinement of component functions, providing a new method for communication research in the Internet of Health Things field.

Promoting animal welfare in wildlife species under human care requires the implementation of techniques for continuously monitoring their health. Infrared thermography is a non-invasive tool that uses the radiation emitted from the skin of animals to assess their thermal state. However, there are no established thermal windows in wildlife species because factors such as the thickness or color of the skin, type/length of coat, or presence of fur can influence the readings taken to obtain objective, sensitive values. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the usefulness and application of the ocular, nasal, thoracic, abdominal, and podal anatomical regions as thermal windows for evaluating zoo animals’ thermal response and health status. A literature search of the Web of Science, Science Direct, and PubMed databases was performed to identify relevant studies that used IRT with wild species as a complementary diagnostic tool. Implementing IRT in zoos or conservation centers could also serve as a method for determining and monitoring optimal habitat designs to meet the needs of specific animals. In addition, we analyze the limitations of using IRT with various wildlife species under human care to understand better the differences among animals and the factors that must be considered when using infrared thermography.

Shrimp surimi is widely acknowledged as a value-added shrimp product due to its delicious taste, rich flavor, and nutrition. However, the refrigerated shrimp surimi is prone to deterioration due to rapid microbial growth during storage. The present study sought to assess the effects of curcumin-mediated sono/photodynamic treatment on bacterial spoilage and shrimp surimi quality stored at 4 °C. The total viable count (TVC), microbiota composition, and quality parameters, including the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARs), and pH were investigated. The results showed that the spoilage bacteria in shrimp surimi rapidly increased with a surge on day 2 during refrigeration storage. The Psychrobacter and Brochothrix were identified as the Specific Spoilage Organisms (SSOs), which were also positively correlated with TVB-N and TBARs. The results further elucidated that the sono/photodynamic treatment could significantly inhibit the growth of SSOs on the surface and interior of shrimp surimi and delay shrimp surimi quality deterioration. In conclusion, the sono/photodynamic treatment as a non-thermal sterilization method could be a reliable and potential method for inactivating spoilage microorganisms and preserving shrimp surimi quality.

Abstract We apply the tools of functional analysis to investigate the existence and uniqueness of solutions for multi-scale stochastic fractional neutral networks. By constructing a descent Lyapunov functional, the asymptotic stability of the solution of the given problem is also studied. Finally, we present two examples to illustrate the effectiveness of the theory.

The miniaturized frequency selective surface (FSS) obtained by connecting a number of limbs with two flexible adjustable transmission zeros is proposed in this paper. The proposed FSS has two transmission zeros on both sides of the passband. The effects of the geometrical parameters on the bandwidth of transmission zeros and pole are analyzed. Adjusting the numbers of the limbs in the FSS can make a great difference to the ratio of the frequencies of the two working transmission zeros, and the coupling between the adjacent FSS unit cells is used to adjust the ratio of the frequencies of the two working transmission zeros slightly. The simulated results show that the ratio of the frequencies of the two working transmission zeros has wide adjustable range. The effects of the ways to connect the limbs on the ratio of the frequencies of the two working transmission zeros are analyzed. The prototype of the FSS with two limbs is fabricated and tested to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. The measured results show that the FSS designed by the proposed method has good polarization and angel stabilities, and this proves the proposed way is effective. This FSS is a good candidate to isolate the communication systems with two working bands.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a common pathogen that causes diarrhea in humans and animals. In particular, E. coli can easily form biofilm on the surface of living or non-living carriers, which can lead to the cross-contamination of food. This review mainly summarizes the formation process of E. coli biofilm, the prevalence of biofilm in the food industry, and inhibition methods of E. coli biofilm, including chemical and physical methods, and inhibition by bioactive extracts from plants and animals. This review aims to provide a basis for the prevention and control of E. coli biofilm in the food industry.

This paper is concerned with the stability of fractional-order systems with randomly timevarying parameters. Two approaches are provided to check the stability of such systems in mean sense. The first approach is based on suitable Lyapunov functionals to assess the stability, which is of vital importance in the theory of stability. By an example one finds that the stability conditions obtained by the first approach can be tabulated for some special cases. For some complicated linear and nonlinear systems, the stability conditions present computational difficulties. The second alternative approach is based on integral inequalities and ingenious mathematical method. Finally, we also give two examples to demonstrate the feasibility and advantage of the second approach. Compared with the stability conditions obtained by the first approach, the stability conditions obtained by the second one are easily verified by simple computation rather than complicated functional construction. The derived criteria improve the existing related results.

The “gut–microbiota–brain axis” reveals that gut microbiota plays a critical role in the orchestrating behavior of the host. However, the correlation between the host personalities and the gut microbiota is still rarely known. To investigate whether the gut microbiota of Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) differs between bold and shy personalities, we compared the gut microbiota of bold and shy gerbils, and then we transplanted the gut microbiota of bold and shy gerbils into middle group gerbils (individuals with less bold and shy personalities). We found a significant overall correlation between host boldness and gut microbiota. Even though there were no significant differences in alpha diversity and beta diversity of gut microbiota between bold and shy gerbils, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes phyla and Odoribacter and Blautia genus were higher in bold gerbils, and Escherichia_shigella genus was lower. Furthermore, the fecal microbiota transplantation showed that changes in gut microbiota could not evidently cause the increase or decrease in the gerbil’s boldness score, but it increased the part of boldness behaviors by gavaging the “bold fecal microbiota”. Overall, these data demonstrated that gut microbiota were significantly correlated with the personalities of the hosts, and alteration of microbiota could alter host boldness to a certain extent.