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This study explored the effect of commercial ripened Pu-erh tea (Y562, China Tea (Yunnan) Industry Co. Ltd.) on improving the health of populations with abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. Qualified volunteers were recruited for nutritional epidemiological and clinical intervention studies. The volunteers were asked to drink the tea for three months. Their body composition (body mass, body mass index (BMI), body fat ratio and visceral fat), body circumferences (waist circumference, hip circumference and neck circumference), glucose metabolism-related indicators (fasting blood glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glycosylated hemoglobin), lipid metabolism-related indicators (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1 and B), blood uric acid levels, liver fat contents, and gut microbiota were tested and compared before and after drinking the tea to explore its health benefits. The results showed that after drinking Y562 without any change in diet or exercise for three months, the body mass, BMI, body circumferences, blood lipids (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1 and B), and liver fat contents of the volunteers were significantly improved (P 0.05). Moreover, the gut microbiota was improved, showing increased uniformity. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Akkermansia muciniphila, Clostridium screenens and Streptococcus thermophilus was increased, while that of Streptococcus, Lactococcus, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium and Paraacteroides distasonis was decreased. This study suggests that ripened Pu-erh tea Y562 has the potential to help reduce the body mass, improve the body shape, reduce blood glucose and lipids, and alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The underlying mechanism may be related to the regulation of the intestinal microecology and the bile acid pathways by Pu-erh tea.

ABSTRACT: Sertoli cells (SC) are a type of important cells in the testes, which can provide transport proteins, regulatory proteins, growth factors, and other cytokines for the spermatogenic process. They participate in the regulation of the maturation and differentiation of spermatogenic cells and play an important supporting role in the migration, proliferation, and differentiation of germ cells at all levels in the testes. Previous studies found differential expression of LINC9137, miR-140-3p, and Sodium/Potassium Transporting ATPase Interacting 3 (NKAIN3) genesin high and low sperm motility goose testicular tissues. This study investigated the effects of the LINC9137-miR-140-3p-NKAIN3 signal axis on the proliferation and apoptosis of goose testicular sertoli cells at the cellular level, respectively. The results showed that through acridine orange staining, oil red O staining, Alkaline phosphatase (AKP) staining, and RT qPCR assay, it was comprehensively identified that the cultured testicular sertoli cells were purified in vitro. Through the dual luciferase activity detection test, it was found that LINC9137 has a targeted binding site with miR-140-3p and NKAIN3. In addition, this study found that overexpression of miR-140-3p significantly inhibited the expression of LINC9137 and NKAIN3 in sertoli cells, and their expression was significantly increased when miR-140-3p was interfered with. By measuring cell proliferation activity and apoptosis related gene expression, it was found that overexpression of LINC9137 decreased cell proliferation activity (P > 0.05), while the expression level of apoptosis factor Bcl2 Associated X Protein (Bax)/B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl2) increased (P > 0.05). On the contrary, when interfering with LINC9137, the cell proliferation activity of sertoli cells was significantly increased (P < 0.01), and the expression level of apoptosis factor Bax/Bcl2 was significantly reduced (P < 0.05); The effect of miR-140-3p on the proliferation and apoptosis of sertoli cells is opposite to that of LINC9137. Meanwhile, this study co transfected overexpressed LINC9137 and miR-140-3p plasmids into sertoli cells, and found that the effect of LINC9137 overexpression on supporting cell proliferation was weakened by miR-140-3p. This study elucidates the role and function of the LINC9137 miR-140-3p-NKAIN3 signaling axis in the development of goose testes and spermatogenesis, establishes a regulatory network related to spermatogenesis, and provides a theoretical basis for studying the genetic regulation of goose spermatogenesis.

Railway capacity estimation problem is typically defined as estimating the maximum number of trains that can be operated in a railway section within a given time interval. However, trains with different speeds, routes, and stopping patterns in a railway network will likely compete for the limited capacity of network nodes and sections. As these trains may provide different services, it is ambiguous to simply indicate the network capacity by a scalar number of trains. To comprehensively estimate and interpret the railway capacity considering the capacity competition between heterogeneous trains, we propose a multiobjective perspective for the capacity estimation problem to enrich the capacity theory while handling the competition among trains with different routes and stopping patterns. Based on a time-space network timetable saturation model, we extend the multiobjective capacity estimation approach to the detailed timetable level by optimizing the saturated timetable under capacity estimation objectives with respect to different routes and stopping patterns. With the ε -constraint method, we can obtain the Pareto front of saturated timetables, i.e., a set of nondominated optimized timetables that no more candidate train can be additionally scheduled. The result is a more comprehensive capacity representation than a single absolute scalar number. A case study is conducted on a combined high-speed and intercity network of Zhengzhou Railway group in China. An extensive set of Pareto-optimal saturated timetables describing the effects on the capacity of the railway network is obtained. The results can help infrastructure managers select saturated timetables as the capacity utilization reference by considering the trade-off between time indexes from passengers' and operators' perspectives., Author(s): Zhengwen Liao [1,2]; Haiying Li [1]; Jianrui Miao (corresponding author) [1,2]; Lingyun Meng [1] 1. Introduction 1.1. Background The intensive capacity utilization of railway infrastructure has become the bottleneck [...]