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Agaricus blazei Murrill (AB) is a mushroom known for its medicinal applications. AB stipe (ABS) is a by-product of the mushroom's processing, which is rich in bioactive substances, such as polysaccharides. This experiment was conducted to assess the effects of dietary ABS supplementation on growth performance, short-chain fatty acid production, antioxidant capacity, immune function, meat quality, gut function, and caecal microbiota in broilers. A total of 180 one-day-old male Arbor Acre broilers (46.17 ± 2.47 g) were randomised to 3 treatments, with 6 replicates per treatment and 10 broilers per replicate. The treatments included one basal diet (control group) and two experimental diets supplemented with 1% and 2% ABS, respectively. This trial lasted 42 days and was divided into Phase 1 (day 1-21) and Phase 2 (day 22-42). The results showed that broilers fed ABS exhibited a significant reduction in the feed conversion ratio throughout the study period (P < 0.05), and tended to have increased average daily gain in Phase 2 (P < 0.1) and the overall period (P < 0.1). On day 42, dietary ABS supplementation significantly decreased the concentration of interleukin-1β (P < 0.05) and total cholesterol in serum (P < 0.05). Moreover, ABS addition significantly increased the villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (P < 0.05) in the jejunum and tended to increase villus height (P < 0.1) and decrease crypt depth (P < 0.1). In addition, the ABS-supplemented groups showed higher microbial diversity and increased proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the caecum. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that ABS supplementation can improve growth performance, anti-inflammatory activity, and intestinal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The current research was designed to assess the efficacy of clonidine in the treatment of children with tic disorder co-morbid with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 154 children with tic disorder co-morbid with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder admitted to our hospital from July 2019 to July 2022 were recruited and assigned to receive either methylphenidate hydrochloride plus haloperidol (observation group) or clonidine (experimental group), with 77 cases in each group. Outcome measures included clinical efficacy, Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) scores, Conners Parent Symptom Questionnaire (PSQ) scores, and adverse events. RESULTS: Clonidine was associated with markedly higher clinical efficacy vs. methylphenidate hydrochloride plus haloperidol (p<0.05). Clonidine offered more significant mitigation of the tic disorder vs. methylphenidate hydrochloride plus haloperidol, as evinced by the lower kinetic tic scores, vocal tic scores, and total scores (p<0.05). Children exhibited markedly milder tic symptoms after clonidine monotherapy vs. those with dual therapy of methylphenidate hydrochloride and haloperidol, suggested by the lower scores of character problems, learning problems, psychosomatic disorders, hyperactivity/impulsivity, anxiety index, and hyperactivity index (p<0.05). Clonidine features a higher safety profile than methylphenidate hydrochloride plus haloperidol by reducing the incidence of adverse events (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Clonidine effectively alleviates tic symptoms, reduces attention deficit and hyperactivity/impulsivity in children with tic disorder co-morbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and features a high safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) remains a major air pollutant of significant public health concerns in urban areas. Long-term monitoring data of PM2.5 chemical composition and source-specific tracers provide essential information for identification of major sources as well as evaluation and planning of control measures. In this study, we present and analyze a ten-year data set of PM2.5 major components and source-specific tracers (e.g., levoglucosan, hopanes, K+, Ni, V, Al, Si) collected over the period of 2008-2017 in an urban site in Hong Kong, China. The time series of pollutants were analyzed by the Seasonal and Trend decomposition by Loess method and general least squares with Autoregressive-Moving average method. Bulk PM2.5 and all its major components displayed significant decline of varying degrees over the decade. PM2.5 was reduced by 40% and at -1.5 μg m-3yr-1. PM25 components that are predominantly influenced by local vehicular emissions showed the steepest decline, with nitrate by -84%, elemental carbon by -56%, and hopanes by -66%, confirming effective control of local vehicular emissions. For components that are significantly impacted by regional transport and secondary formation, they had a notably lower percentage reduction, with sulfate by -33% and organic carbon by -23%, reflecting complexity in their region-wide contributing sources and formation chemistry. Levoglucosan and K+, two tracers for biomass burning, differed in their reduction extent, with K+ at -60% and levoglucosan at -47%, indicating they likely track different biomass burning types. Dust components in PM2.5 also decreased, by -37% for Al and -46% for Si. The year of 2011 was an anomaly in the overall trend in having higher concentrations of PM2.5 and components than its adjacent years, and the long time series analysis attributed the anomaly to unusually lower rainfall associated with strong La Nina events. This ten-year trend analysis based on measurements exemplifies the utility of chemical composition data in support of an evidence-based approach for control policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manganese (Mn) excess is a major abiotic stress for plant growth. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Mn on photosynthesis in Ligustrum lucidum and Melia azedarach leaves using chlorophyll fluorescence transients. Both plant species were exposed to two Mn concentrations (0.5 and 1 mmol) for 10 and 30 d. Results showed that excess Mn significantly inhibited photosynthesis. With the increase of Mn concentration and stress time, the inhibition was more serious. Mn stress impaired PSII at the donor and the acceptor side by damaging the oxygen-evolving complex and limiting electron transport downstream of QA in both trees. A significant decline in 820 nm reflection curve absorption was observed in M. azedarach, suggesting that the oxidization-reduction reactions in PSI were inhibited but this phenomenon was not observed in L. lucidum. Therefore, excess Mn impaired the whole electron transport chain associated with inactive PSII reaction centers in Ligustrum lucidum and inhibited oxidizationreduction reactions in PSI in M. azedarach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicular emissions contribute a significant portion to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution in urban areas. Knowledge of the relative contribution of gasoline versus diesel powered vehicles is highly policy relevant and yet there lacks an effective observation-based method to determine this quantity, especially for its robust tracking over a period of years. In this work, we present an approach to track separate contributions by gasoline and diesel vehicles through positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of online monitoring data measurable by relatively inexpensive analytical instruments. They are PM2.5 organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), C2-C9 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (e.g., pentanes, benzene, xylenes, etc) and nitrogen oxides concentrations. The method was applied to monitoring data spanning over six years between 2011 and 2017 in a roadside environment in Hong Kong. We found that diesel vehicles accounted for ~ 70-90 % of the vehicular PM2.5 (PMvehicle) over the years and the remaining from gasoline vehicles. The diesel PMvehicle during a truck- and a bus-dominated periods showed declining trends, in coincidence with control efforts targeting at diesel commercial vehicles and franchised buses in the intervening period. The combined PMvehicle from diesel and gasoline vehicles by PMF agrees well with an independent estimate by the EC-tracer method, both confirming PMvehicle contributed significantly to the PM2.5 in this urban environment (~ 4-8 µg m-3, representing 30-60 % in summer and 10-20 % in winter). Our work shows that long-term monitoring of roadside VOCs and PM2.5 OC and EC is effective for tracking gaseous and PM pollutants from different vehicle categories. This work also demonstrates the value of evidence-based approach in support of effective control policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]