Search

In this study, we investigated the bacterial community composition and structure during the fermentation process of traditional light-flavor baijiu using PacBio SMRT sequencing technology, and further explored the mechanism of bacterial community self-assembly during the fermentation process using a framework to quantitatively infer community assembly mechanisms by phylogenetic bin-based null model analysis (iCAMP). The results showed that the bacterial diversity decreased and then increased during the fermentation process. Lactobacillus, Acetobacter, Pediococcus and Weissella were identified as the dominant genera, and L. pontis, L. paralimentarius, L. brevis and L. acetotolerans as the dominant species. According to the differences among bacterial communities at different fermentation times, the whole fermentation process could be divided into three stages: I (0 days), II (3–10 days) and III (12–28 days). Acetobacter malorum, L. paralimentarius and L. pontis were the differential species in stages I, II and III, respectively, and there were a significant negative correlation between the differential species in different stages and a significant positive correlation between the differential species in the same fermentation stage. In addition, turnover was the major process responsible for bacterial community changes, and drift during stoichiometry was the most important process driving bacterial community self-assembly. Meanwhile, starch content, temperature and moisture content may be the main factors influencing bacterial community self-assembly during fermentation. The above results provide insight into the bacterial species composition, community succession patterns and self-assembly mechanisms during the fermentation of traditional light-flavor baijiu, which can provide a theoretical basis for regulating the microbial communities in the baijiu brewing process and further optimizing the role of multiple microorganisms in the mixed fermentation process.

Objective: The aim of our study was to compare the clinical value of pathological spontaneous activity (PSA) in different thoracic paraspinal muscles (TPMs) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: A total of 116 ALS patients were retrospectively analyzed over 31 ± 8 months concerning the occurrence of PSA in T9–T11 TPM. The occurrence of PSA was correlated with pulmonary function and clinical disability. Results: The positive sharp wave (PSW) potentials were more frequently observed than fibrillation (fib) in T9–T11 segments. The PSA positive frequency of bulbar‐onset ALS (B‐ALS) is less than upper limb‐onset ALS (U‐ALS) and lower limb‐onset ALS (L‐ALS) at the levels of T10 and T11 TPM (p = 0.050, p = 0.001). The fibs/PSWs in TPM indicated high sensitivity and negative predictive value for forced vital capacity (FVC) < 80%. Linear correlation analysis indicated that PSA of TPM was associated with pulmonary ventilation function (PVF). Associations also exist between clinical parameters and PVF as well as the disease severity. Conclusions: The occurrence of T9‐TPM fibs/PSWs was correlated with clinical disability and is extremely helpful in implying an involvement of PVF. The T9‐TPM typically provided a good practical indicator for comprehensive disease evaluation, which was irrelevant to the site of onset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on the use of robotics in hospitality and tourism has called attention to tourists' post-adoption behavior, including value co-creation. Guided by the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, a mixed-method study was conducted to explore the antecedents and mechanisms of tourists' value co-creation behavior with robots. Qualitative interviews revealed robots' anthropomorphism and economic rewards as tourists' key concerns regarding robot-provided services. Subsequently, partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to investigate how robot service attributes influenced tourist–robot co-creation, including participation and citizenship behaviors, and enhancing tourists' experiences at tourist attractions. Findings indicated that three types of perceived experiential value fully mediated the relationships between robots' degree of anthropomorphism and tourists' value co-creation behavior, as well as between economic rewards and participation behavior. However, the relationship between economic rewards and citizenship behavior was partially mediated. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic chronic inflammatory bowel disease with high morbidity and an increased risk of cancer or death, resulting in a heavy societal medical burden. While current treatment modalities have been successful in achieving long-term remission and reducing the risk of complications, IBD remains incurable. Nanomedicine has the potential to address the high toxic side effects and low efficacy in IBD treatment. However, synthesized nanomedicines typically exhibit some degree of immune rejection, off-target effects, and a poor ability to cross biological barriers, limiting the development of clinical applications. The emergence of bionic materials and bionic technologies has reshaped the landscape in novel pharmaceutical fields. Biomimetic drug-delivery systems can effectively improve biocompatibility and reduce immunogenicity. Some bioinspired strategies can mimic specific components, targets or immune mechanisms in pathological processes to produce targeting effects for precise disease control. This article highlights recent research on bioinspired and biomimetic strategies for the treatment of IBD and discusses the challenges and future directions in the field to advance the treatment of IBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gliomas are the most severe brain tumours with a poor prognosis. Although surgery, postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy can improve the survival rate of glioma patients, the prognosis of most glioma patients is still poor. In recent years, the influence of gene-targeted therapy on gliomas has been gradually discovered, and intervening the occurrence and development of brain gliomas from the perspective of the gene will significantly improve treatment prognosis. Protein Kinase C and Casein Kinase Substrate in Neurons 1 (PACSIN1) is a member of the conserved peripheral membrane protein family in eukaryotes. Improper expression of PACSIN1 can lead to neurological diseases such as Huntington’s disease and schizophrenia. However, its relationship with tumours or even gliomas has not been explored. The study aims to explore PACSIN1 as a prognostic factor that can predict overall survival (OS) for gliomas. We collected the data from CGGA, TCGA, GEO databases and the pathological glioma tissue specimens from 15 clinical glioma patients surgically resected. The differential expression of PACSIN1 in various clinical indicators, the genes related to PACSIN1 expression, the prognostic value of PACSIN1 and the functional annotations and pathway analysis of differently expressed genes (DEGs) were analysed. The results revealed that PACSIN1 had low expression levels in grade IV, IDH1 wild-type and 1p/19q non-codel group gliomas, and PACSIN1 was considered a mesenchymal molecular subtype marker. PACSIN1 expression is positively correlated with OS in all gliomas and it was found that PACSIN1 influenced the occurrence and development of gliomas through synaptic transmission. The PACSIN1 expression is negatively correlated with the malignant degree of gliomas and positively associated with the OS, indicating that PACSIN1 would play an essential role in the occurrence and development of gliomas and might be a potential new biomarker and targeted therapy site for gliomas.

Background: As indigestible carbohydrates, milk oligosaccharides possess various benefits for newborns, mainly through intestinal microbiota, among which 2'‐fucosyllactose (2'‐FL) is the most predominant milk oligosaccharide. However, knowledge about the fermentative characteristics of 2'‐FL in the gut remains limited, especially in the small intestine. The aim of this study is to explore the differential fermentability of 2'‐FL by the small and large intestinal microbiota of piglets using fructo‐oligosaccharide (FOS) and lactose as controls in an in vitro batch fermentation experiment. During fermentation, microbial composition was characterized along with gas production and short‐chain fatty acid production. Results: 2'‐Fucosyllactose showed differential fermentability in jejunal and colonic fermentation. Compared with the colon, 2'‐FL produced less gas in the jejunum than in the FOS and lactose groups (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, 2'‐FL exhibited a different influence on the microbial composition and metabolism in the jejunum and colon compared with FOS and lactose. In the jejunum, compared with the FOS and lactose groups, the 2'‐FL group showed a higher abundance of Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Blautia, but a lower abundance of Streptococcus and Lactobacillus (P < 0.05), with a higher level of propionate and a lower level of lactate during fermentation (P < 0.05). In the colon, compared with the FOS and lactose groups, 2'‐FL increased the abundance of Blautia, Faecalibacterium, and Lachnospiraceae FCS020, but decreased the abundance of Prevotella_9, Succinivibrio, and Megasphaera (P < 0.05) with an increase in acetate production (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Overall, the results suggested that the small intestinal microbiota had the potential to ferment milk oligosaccharides. Meanwhile, in comparison with FOS and lactose, 2′‐FL selectively stimulated the growth of propionate‐producing bacteria in the jejunum and acetate‐producing bacteria in the colon. These results demonstrated the differences in fermentation properties of 2'‐FL by small and large intestinal microbiota and provided new evidence for the application of 2'‐FL in optimizing gut microbiota. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α‐phase formamidine lead iodine (α‐FAPbI3) as a competitive candidate to pursue high‐performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) suffers from the weakness of random nucleation and disordered growth in chasing high‐grade polycrystalline films. Here, single‐crystal seeds crystallization (SCSC) method is proposed to obtain high‐quality α‐FAPbI3 perovskite films for the first time. Six single‐crystals seeds (CsPbBr3, CsPbI3, FAPbBr3, FAPbI3, MAPbBr3, and MAPbI3) are employed to regulate α‐FAPbI3 perovskite crystallization. These seeds act as nucleation sites and allow the perovskite to grow directly. The rapid crystallization significantly improves the crystallinity of perovskite films with uniform morphology, large grain size, and less defects. Of particular note, FAPbBr3 seed prefers to grow α‐FAPbI3 epitaxially from FAPbBr3@PbI2 heterostructure through a halogen anion exchange process. The average grain size of FAPbBr3‐perovskite film is boosted to 2.6 µm, and the trap density reduced by 11 times. The resultant FAPbBr3‐PSCs achieve a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.84% with a high open‐circuit voltage of 1.18 V. The unencapsulated PSC retains 91% of the initial PCE after 3000 h of storage at ≈30–50% relative humidity and preserves 98.5% of the original value after 155 h illumination with maximum power point tracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leptospirosis is an important zoonosis that is caused by pathogenic Leptospira, which is considered to be a re-emerging infectious disease in many countries. Rodents are the most important reservoirs for both human and animal infection. An epidemiological survey of pathogenic Leptospira in rodents is important for the prevention and control of leptospirosis. In this study, a total of 964 rodents were captured from six cities in Hubei Province, and two pathogenic Leptospira species (L. interrogans and L. borgpetersenii) were detected using nested PCR with an overall prevalence of 4.8%. L. interrogans was distributed in five sampling sites, which may be the dominant species of pathogenic Leptospira in Hubei Province. In addition, Rattus norvegicus showed a relatively high infection rate, which may play an important role in the transmission and infection of pathogenic Leptospira. This study reveals the prevalence of pathogenic Leptospira in wild rodents in Hubei Province, suggesting that the risk of leptospirosis infection in Hubei Province still exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]