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The study aims to investigate the effects of different microbial additives on the sensory evaluation, nutritional components, and fermentation quality of Moringa oleifera stem and leaf silage. The experiment was conducted using Moringa oleifera stem and leaf silage as the substrate. The control group did not add any microbial agents, while the experimental groups added Lactobacillus plantarum (Group A), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Group B), Bacillus subtilis (Group C), Lactobacillus plantarum + Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Group D), Saccharomyces cerevisiae + Bacillus subtilis (Group E), Lactobacillus plantarum + Bacillus subtilis (Group F), and Lactobacillus plantarum + Saccharomyces cerevisiae + Bacillus subtilis (Group G). Each group had three replicates, and the silage was stored for 30 days. The sensory evaluation, nutritional components, and fermentation quality of the Moringa oleifera stem and leaf silage were measured. The results showed that the control group had the lowest sensory evaluation score of 12 points, while Groups D, E, F, and G had scores ranging from 18 to 19 points, classified as first-class excellent. Compared to the control group, the crude protein (CP) concentrations in Moringa oleifera stem and leaf silage of all microbial additive groups except Group A were significantly increased (P<0.05). The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) concentrations in Groups D, E, F, and G were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the lignin (ADL) content was reduced in all microbial additive groups, while the relative feeding value (RFV) was significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared to the control group, the pH value of the silage in all microbial additive groups was significantly decreased (P<0.05), and below 4.2. The ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) content in the silage of Groups D, E, F, and G was significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the lactic acid (LA) content in the silage of all microbial additive groups was significantly increased (P<0.05). The phytic acid content in the silage of all microbial agent groups was significantly decreased (P<0.05). The study indicates that the addition of Lactobacillus plantarum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Bacillus subtilis during the ensiling process of Moringa oleifera stem and leaves can improve the sensory score, nutritional quality, and fermentation quality to varying degrees, with the combination of Lactobacillus plantarum + Saccharomyces cerevisiae + Bacillus subtilis showing the best results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed an a-InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin film transistor (TFT) structure that inserts a sputtered AlOx intermediate layer (IL) within the active layer. The IL not only effectively blocks hydrogen (H) diffusion from the gate insulation (GI) layer to the upper region of a-IGZO but also modifies the energy band structure of the bottom channel region and creates a locally low electron concentration that counteracts the excess electron donated by diffused H. Compared to conventional TFTs, the TFT with the IL exhibits impressive electrical characteristics, including a high saturation mobility (μsat) of 14.5 cm2 V−1 s−1, an on/off current ratio (Ion/Ioff) of 6.2 × 108, and a low subthreshold swing (SS) of 0.16 V/dec. Furthermore, this structure exhibits remarkable stability under negative bias stress and negative bias illumination stress, with ΔVth values of 1.1 and 1.5 V, respectively. The integration of the IL provides a promising approach for enhancing the performance of a-IGZO TFTs, paving the way for next-generation display technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of active yeast on the growth performance, serum antioxidant capacity and immunity of weaned piglets. A total of 200 weaned 32-day-old piglets were randomly divided into four groups, with five replicates in each group and 10 piglets in each replicate. Piglets in the control group were fed with a basal diet, and the piglets in Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 were fed with a basal diet supplemented with 0.25, 0.50 and 1.00 g/kg coated active Saccharomyces boulardii, respectively. The pre-test period was 1 w, and the formal test period was 28 d. The results showed that the final weight of piglets in the Group 2 and Group 3 was increased by 6.21% and 8.13% compared with the control group (P<0.05), and the average daily gain was increased by 11.11% and 13.68% compared with the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the feed to gain ratio of all coated yeast groups was significantly decreased by 4.89%, 7.61% and 9.24% (P<0.05), and the diarrhea rate was decreased by 53.67%, 69.50% and 73.61% (P<0.01). The serum T-SOD activity of piglets in the Group 2 and Group 3 was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), and the T-AOC was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The serum IL-10 content of piglets in the active yeast group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The serum TNF-α content of the Group 2 and Group 3 was significantly lower than that of the control group and Group 1 (P<0.05). The number of Lactobacillus in cecum of the Group 2 and Group 3 was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05), the number of Escherichia coli in cecum of all coated active yeast groups was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05), and the number of yeast was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). The number of Escherichia coli in the jejuni of all coated active yeast groups was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), and the number of yeast was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that feeding appropriate amount of coated active yeast can improve the growth performance, antioxidant performance and immunity, improve intestinal flora structure of weaned piglets, and the suitable supplemental level of coated active yeast is 0.50 g/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the experiment was to investigate the effect of dietary mushroom residue on growth performance, nutrient apparent digestibility and serum biochemical indexes of weaned piglets. A total of 320 'Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire' piglets were selected and divided into four groups with eight replicates in each group and 10 piglets in each replicate. Pigs in control group were fed with basal diet, and pigs in fungus residue group were fed with the basal diet containing 1%, 2% and 4% flammulina mushroom residue, respectively. The experiment lasted for 28 d. The results showed that the final weight, average daily gain and feed to gain ratio of weaned piglets were not significantly affected by edible fungus residue (P>0.05), but the diarrhea rate of weaned piglets was significantly lower than that of control group when the edible fungus residue supplemental level was 2% and 4% (P<0.05). Compared with control group, the digestibility of crude protein of weaned piglets in 2% group was significantly increased (P<0.05), and the utilization rate of crude fiber of weaned piglets in 2% group and 4% group was significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with control group, the serum GLB content of piglets in all bacteria residue groups was significantly increased (P<0.05). The content of TP and ALB and the activity of SOD and CIHR in serum of weaned piglets in 2% group and 4% group were significantly increased (P<0.05), while the content of TC and MDA were significantly decreased (P<0.05). The study indicates that weaning piglets eating proper amount of edible fungus residue can reduce the diarrhea rate, improve the digestibility of crude protein and crude fiber, and improve some serum biochemical indexes. Under the premise of not affecting the growth performance, it was more appropriate for weaning piglets to eat 2% of edible fungus residue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Tobacco kills nearly 6 million people per year on account of direct tobacco use or indirect smoke exposure [World Health Organization (WHO) 2014]. Cigarette smoking, the primary method of [...], BACKGROUND: Smoking is a risk factor for many human diseases. DNA methylation has been related to smoking, but genome-wide methylation data for smoking in Chinese populations is limited. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate epigenome-wide methylation in relation to smoking in a Chinese population. METHODS: We measured the methylation levels at > 485,000 CpG sites (CpGs) in DNA from leukocytes using a methylation array and conducted a genome-wide meta-analysis of DNA methylation and smoking in a total of 596 Chinese participants. We further evaluated the associations of smoking-related CpGs with internal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) biomarkers and their correlations with the expression of corresponding genes. RESULTS: We identified 318 CpGs whose methylation levels were associated with smoking at a genome-wide significance level (false discovery rate < 0.05), among which 161 CpGs annotated to 123 genes were not associated with smoking in recent studies of Europeans and African Americans. Of these smoking-related CpGs, methylation levels at 80 CpGs showed significant correlations with the expression of corresponding genes (including RUNX3, IL6R, PTAFR, ANKRD11, CEP135 and CDH23), and methylation at 15 CpGs was significantly associated with urinary 2-hydroxynaphthalene, the most representative internal monohydroxy-PAH biomarker for smoking. CONCLUSION: We identified DNA methylation markers associated with smoking in a Chinese population, including some markers that were also correlated with gene expression. Exposure to naphthalene, a byproduct of tobacco smoke, may contribute to smoking-related methylation. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509834