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Background: Gout is a hyperuricemia (HUA)-related inflammatory reaction in the joints. Leech therapy has been effective in the gout, but the exact mechanism is unclear. Objectives: In this study, an exploration of the therapeutic mechanism of leech therapy in HUA and gouty arthritis (GA) rats was done. Material and methods: HUA and GA construction utilizing sodium urate crystal, the potassium form of oxygen oxazine acid, and adenine. Serum and tissues were collected to measure uric acid (UA), creatinine (Cr), and urea nitrogen (UN). Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was executed to evaluate the levels of xanthine oxidase (XOD), interleukin-6 (IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). The expression of glucose transporter 9 (GLUT9), organic anion transporter 3 (OAT3), adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette efflux transporter G2 (ABCG2) and the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Toll-like Receptor 2 (TLR2) were assessed by Western blot and visualized in immunohistochemistry staining. Results: Leech therapy reduces the levels of UA, Cr, and UN as well as the liver and serum levels of XOD activity, increasing the expressions of GLUT9, ABCG2, and OAT3 in the kidney. Meanwhile, it reduces joint swelling and lowers the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, TLR2, and NF-kB. Conclusions: Leech therapy regulates the metabolism of uric acid and treats gouty arthritis with an anti-inflammatory effect.

Rivers are constantly disturbed by anthropogenic stressors. Developing robust biotic indicators to assess river environments across large spatial scales is important. In the subtropical Liuxi River of China, 34 native fish indicators, including 4 genera and 30 species, were selected from 108 fish species by linear discriminant analysis. These indicators were grouped into 19 ecological items and assigned evaluation scores according to the roles they played in the food web (e.g., keystoneness and trophic level) and their positive feedback on the environment (e.g., requirements for feeding, spawning/nursing, and migrating). Three formulae for calculating the index of fish indicators (IFI) were developed based on the scoring of each indicator and weighted by relative abundance (individual number, i.e., IFI[INF]N[/INF]) and relative biomass (wet weight, i.e., IFI[INF]B[/INF]). Spearman correlation analysis showed that IFI[INF]B[/INF], which had positive (P< 0.05) correlations with elevation (m), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), flow velocity (cm/s), Shannon-Wiener diversity, benthic index of biotic integrity, exhibited a more powerful explanation of biodiversity and environmental factors than IFI[INF]N[/INF] and unweighted IFI. Therefore, IFI[INF]B[/INF] was most suitable for constructing a scoring system to evaluate ecological status (e.g., water and habitat quality). These results suggested that fish indicator-based scoring and evaluation system was effectively in not only assessing the siteor region-specific ecological status bot also reflecting the fluvial biodiversity and food web integrity. Further application and promotion of this indicator-based evaluation method may improve field investigation efficiency and contribute greatly to the conservation and management of river ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy coral reefs provide diverse habitats for marine life, playing a crucial role in marine ecosystems. Coral health is under threat due to global climate change, ocean pollution, and other environmental stressors, leading to coral bleaching. Coral bleaching disrupts the symbiotic relationship between corals and algae, ultimately impacting the entire marine ecosystem. Processing complex underwater images manually is time-consuming and burdensome for marine experts. To rapidly locate and monitor coral health, deep neural networks are employed for identifying coral categories, which can facilitate the automated processing of extensive underwater imaging data. However, these classification networks may overlook critical classification criteria like color and texture. This paper proposes a multi-local perception network (ML-Net) for image classification of healthy and bleached corals. ML-Net focuses on local features of coral targets, leveraging valuable information for image classification. Specifically, the proposed multi-branch local adaptive block extracts image details through parallel convolution kernels. Then, the proposed multi-scale local fusion block integrates features of different scales vertically, enhancing the detailed information within the deep network. Residual structures in the shallow network transmit local information with more texture and color to the deep network. Both horizontal and vertical multi-scale fusion blocks in deep networks are used to capture and retain local details. We evaluated ML-Net using six evaluation metrics on the Bleached and Unbleached Corals Classification dataset. In particular, ML-Net achieves an ACC result of 86.35, which is 4.36 higher than ResNet and 8.5 higher than ConvNext. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modules for coral classification in underwater environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the impact of inulin on the redox status and intestinal flora in mouse models of eczema, we utilized thirty male Kunming mice. These mice were randomly assigned to the control, model, and high- and low-dose inulin treatment groups, with interventions of varying insulin doses administered accordingly. Except for the control group, each group was sensitized with 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) to establish eczema models. Inulin was added into the feed at mass fractions of 5% and 20% for high-and low-dose groups, respectively, for four weeks. HE staining was used to observe pathological changes in the skin and colon. The activity of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in spleen and thymus were determined using biochemical methods. Feces were collected for 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing to analyze the composition of gut microbiota in mice. The pathological results indicated that the changes in the skin and colon in mice were alleviated after inulin intervention. Comparison of the treatment groups with the model group revealed that inulin at a high dose significantly increased T-SOD and reduced MDA content in spleen and thymus (P<0.05). In addition, the abundance of Bifidobacterium, Allobaculum, and Olsenella in the low-dose group increased considerably (P<0.05), and the abundance of Allobaculum in the high-dose group increased significantly (P<0.05). Inulin at both low and high doses significantly reduced the abundance of Enterococcus. In short, inulin can effectively improve eczema by regulating gut microbiota and improving antioxidant capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a common musculoskeletal disorder that contributes significantly to disability and healthcare costs. Serum urate concentration has been implicated in the development of various musculoskeletal conditions. While previous observational studies have suggested an association between the two conditions, it might confound the effect of serum urate concentrations on IDD. This Mendelian randomization (MR) study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between serum urate concentration and IDD. Methods: We performed a two‐sample MR analysis using summary‐level data from genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) of serum urate concentration (n = 13 585 994 European ancestry) and IDD (n = 16 380 337 European ancestry). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with serum urate concentration (p < 5 × 10−8) were selected as instrumental variables. The associations between genetically predicted serum urate concentration and IDD were estimated using the inverse‐variance weighted (IVW) method, with sensitivity analyses employing the weighted median, MR‐Egger, and MR‐PRESSO approaches to assess the robustness of the findings. Results: In the primary IVW analysis, genetically predicted serum urate concentration was unrelated associated with IDD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.00, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.00, p = 0.17)). The results remained consistent across the sensitivity analyses, and no significant directional pleiotropy was detected (MR‐Egger intercept: p = 0.15). Conclusions: This MR study provides evidence that there is no causal relationship between serum urate concentration and IDD. It suggests previous observational associations may be confounded. Serum urate levels are unlikely to be an important contributor to IDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastic (<5 mm) pollution has become a pressing environmental concern in recent years. The present study investigated the occurrence characteristics and assessed the ecological risk of microplastics in the surface water and sediment of the Chitian Reservoir, a drinking water source in Hainan province (China). The results indicated that microplastics were detected in the surface water and sediment of the Chitian Reservoir and its surrounding areas. The overall abundance of microplastics in the water was 3.05 ± 1.16 items per L and in the sediment was 0.15 ± 0.06 items per g dry weight, which is relatively low compared to other reservoirs in China. The dominant components of microplastics detected in the Chitian Reservoir were polypropylene (PP), rayon, and polyester. Physical morphology analysis of microplastics showed that fibers with small particle sizes (<1 mm) and white color were the predominant characteristics in both the surface water and sediment. The domestic sewage from surrounding residents and agricultural wastewater may be the primary sources of microplastics in the reservoir. Ecological risk assessment revealed that the overall pollution load index (PLI) in the surface water (0.65) and sediment (0.51) of the Chitian Reservoir and its surrounding area is at a low level. The potential ecological hazards (RI) of microplastics (0.13 to 336.78 in water; 0.23 to 465.93 in sediment) in most sites fall within the scope of level I, but those in a few sites are at level II due to the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This study enriches the data on microplastic pollution in inland reservoir systems, providing fundamental reference information for future ecotoxicological studies and the management of microplastic pollution control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]