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Abstract In this paper, a high-gain low-switching-stress coupled-inductor with high voltage step-up voltage multiplier cells quadratic boost converter (VMC-QBC) is proposed. The turn ratio of the coupled inductors and the switch duty cycle increase the dynamic gain, and the two degrees of freedom adjustment and modularity of the voltage multiplier cells (VMC) make the structure more flexible. The use of the same drive signal for both switches makes control easier. While achieving multi-stage boosting and multiplication boosting from low to medium duty cycle, the passive clamping circuit absorbs the energy leaked by the coupled inductor, thus reducing the stress on the switching tube and alleviating the diode reverse recovery problem. A non-ideal model with parasitic parameters is developed to analyse the real voltage gain and the converter losses to give design guidelines. A 300 W prototype is designed and tested. The state space model of the converter is established and the working principle is analysed. Compared to other high-gain quadratic boost converters, the proposed converter has continuous input current, common ground characteristics, and high voltage gain at low to medium duty cycles to accommodate integrated multi-energy storage systems.

Abstract Background The role of microbes in diseases, especially cancer, has garnered significant attention. However, research on the oral microbiota in oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) remains limited. Our study investigates microbial communities in OPMDs. Materials and methods Oral biopsies from19 oral leukoplakia (OLK) patients, 19 proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) patients, 19 oral lichen planus (OLP) patients, and 19 oral lichenoid lesions (OLL) patients were obtained. 15 SCC specimens were also collected from PVL patients. Healthy individuals served as controls, and DNA was extracted from their paraffin-embedded tissues. 2bRAD-M sequencing generated taxonomic profiles. Alpha and beta diversity analyses, along with Linear Discriminant Analysis effect size analysis, were conducted. Results Our results showed the microbial richness and diversity were significantly different among groups, with PVL-SCC resembling controls, while OLK exhibited the highest richness. Each disease group displayed unique microbial compositions, with distinct dominant bacterial species. Noteworthy alterations during PVL-SCC progression included a decline in Fusobacterium periodonticum and an elevation in Prevotella oris. Conclusions Different disease groups exhibited distinct dominant bacterial species and microbial compositions. These findings offer promise in elucidating the underlying mechanisms of this disease.

Abstract With the rapid development of renewable energy, photovoltaic energy storage systems (PV-ESS) play an important role in improving energy efficiency, ensuring grid stability and promoting energy transition. As an important part of the micro-grid system, the energy storage system can realize the stable operation of the micro-grid system through the design optimization and scheduling optimization of the photovoltaic energy storage system. The structure and characteristics of photovoltaic energy storage system are summarized. From the perspective of photovoltaic energy storage system, the optimization objectives and constraints are discussed, and the current main optimization algorithms for energy storage systems are compared and evaluated. The challenges and future development of energy storage systems are briefly described, and the research results of energy storage system optimization methods are summarized. This paper summarizes the application of swarm intelligence optimization algorithm in photovoltaic energy storage systems, including algorithm principles, optimization goals, practical application cases, challenges and future development directions, providing new ideas for better promotion and application of new energy photovoltaic energy storage systems and valuable reference.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different proportions of dietary fermented sweet potato residue (FSPR) supplementation as a substitute for corn on the nutrient digestibility, meat quality, and intestinal microbes of yellow-feathered broilers. Experiment 1 (force-feeding) evaluated the nutrient composition and digestibility of mixtures with different proportions of sweet potato residue (70%, 80%, 90%, and 100%) before and after fermentation. In Experiment 2 (metabolic growth), a total of 420 one-day-old yellow-feathered broilers were randomly allocated to 4 groups and fed corn-soybean meal-based diets with 0, 5%, 8%, and 10% FSPR as a substitute for corn. The force-feeding and metabolic growth experiments were performed for 9 and 70 d, respectively. The treatment of 70% sweet potato residue (after fermentation) had the highest levels of crude protein, ether extract, and crude fiber and improved the digestibility of crude protein and amino acids (P

BackgroundDeer antler stem cells (AnSCs) exhibit properties of both embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells, with superior self-renewal and proliferation, which drive rapid antler growth and regeneration. AnSCs and their derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) hold promising potential for applications in regeneration medicine. Due to the restricted proliferative capacity inherent in primary cells, the production capacity of AnSCs and their sEVs are limited. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the most important telomerase subunit, hTERT gene insertion has been successfully employed in generating immortalized cell lines.ResultsIn this study, we successfully established immortalized AnSCs by transducing the hTERT gene using lentivirus. Compared to primary AnSCs, hTERT-AnSCs demonstrated extended passage potential and accelerated proliferation rates while maintaining the mesenchymal stem cell surface markers CD44 and CD90. Additionally, hTERT-AnSCs retained the capacity for osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation. sEVs derived from hTERT-AnSCs exhibited a particle size distribution similar to that of AnSCs, both displaying a cup-shaped morphology and expressing CD81, ALIX, and TSG101, while notably lacking GM130 expression.ConclusionWe successfully isolated primary stem cells from deer antler and established the immortalized hTERT-AnSCs. Remarkably, this cell line maintains its stem cell characteristics even after 40 passages. The sEVs derived from these cells exhibit identical morphological and structural features to those of primary AnSCs. This research provides essential technical support for the application of AnSCs and their sEVs in regenerative medicine.

Weaning is one of the most challenging periods in a pig’s life, during which piglets suffer from nutrition and other issues. Post-weaning diarrhea is one of the major health problems in the pig industry, leading to high morbidity and mortality rates. Previous studies have demonstrated that both the source and concentration of proteins are closely associated with post-weaning diarrhea in piglets. This study was conducted to prevent and control post-weaning diarrhea by selecting different dietary protein concentrations. To eliminate interference from other protein sources, casein was used as the only protein source in this study. Fourteen piglets (weighing 8.43 ± 0.3 kg, weaned on the 28th day) were randomly assigned to two dietary protein groups: a low-protein group (LP, containing 17% casein) and a high-protein group (HP, containing 30% casein). The experiment lasted 2 weeks, during which all piglets had ad libitum access to food and water. Diarrhea was scored on a scale from 1 to 3 (where 1 indicates normal stools and 3 indicates watery diarrhea), and growth performance measurements were recorded daily. The results showed that the piglets in the HP group had persistent diarrhea during the whole study, whereas no diarrhea was observed among piglets in the control group. The body weights and feed intake were significantly lower in piglets in the HP group compared to those in the LP group (p

This study aimed to determine the regulatory mechanism of dietary zinc lactate (ZL) supplementation on intestinal oxidative stress damage in a paraquat (PQ)-induced piglet model. Twenty-eight piglets (mean body weight 9.51 ± 0.23 kg) weaned at 28 d of age were randomly divided into control, ZL, PQ, and ZL + PQ groups (n = 7 in each group). The ZL-supplemented diet had little effect on growth performance under normal physiological conditions. However, under PQ challenge, ZL supplementation significantly improved average daily gain (P

Abstract Odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) is a common jaw cyst with a high recurrence rate. OKC combined with basal cell carcinoma as well as skeletal and other developmental abnormalities is thought to be associated with Gorlin syndrome. Moreover, OKC needs to be differentiated from orthokeratinized odontogenic cyst and other jaw cysts. Because of the different prognosis, differential diagnosis of several cysts can contribute to clinical management. We collected 519 cases, comprising a total of 2 157 hematoxylin and eosin-stained images, to develop digital pathology-based artificial intelligence (AI) models for the diagnosis and prognosis of OKC. The Inception_v3 neural network was utilized to train and test models developed from patch-level images. Finally, whole slide image-level AI models were developed by integrating deep learning-generated pathology features with several machine learning algorithms. The AI models showed great performance in the diagnosis (AUC = 0.935, 95% CI: 0.898–0.973) and prognosis (AUC = 0.840, 95%CI: 0.751–0.930) of OKC. The advantages of multiple slides model for integrating of histopathological information are demonstrated through a comparison with the single slide model. Furthermore, the study investigates the correlation between AI features generated by deep learning and pathological findings, highlighting the interpretative potential of AI models in the pathology. Here, we have developed the robust diagnostic and prognostic models for OKC. The AI model that is based on digital pathology shows promise potential for applications in odontogenic diseases of the jaw.

Abstract Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the predominant type of oral cancer, while some patients may develop oral multiple primary cancers (MPCs) with unclear etiology. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and genomic alterations of oral MPCs. Clinicopathological data from patients with oral single primary carcinoma (SPC, n = 202) and oral MPCs (n = 34) were collected and compared. Copy number alteration (CNA) analysis was conducted to identify chromosomal-instability differences among oral MPCs, recurrent OSCC cases, and OSCC patients with lymph node metastasis. Whole-exome sequencing was employed to identify potential unique gene mutations in oral MPCs patients. Additionally, CNA and phylogenetic tree analyses were used to gain preliminary insights into the molecular characteristics of different primary tumors within individual patients. Our findings revealed that, in contrast to oral SPC, females predominated the oral MPCs (70.59%), while smoking and alcohol use were not frequent in MPCs. Moreover, long-term survival outcomes were poorer in oral MPCs. From a CNA perspective, no significant differences were observed between oral MPCs patients and those with recurrence and lymph node metastasis. In addition to commonly mutated genes such as CASP8, TP53 and MUC16, in oral MPCs we also detected relatively rare mutations, such as HS3ST6 and RFPL4A. Furthermore, this study also demonstrated that most MPCs patients exhibited similarities in certain genomic regions within individuals, and distinct differences of the similarity degree were observed between synchronous and metachronous oral MPCs.

IntroductionOxidative stress plays a pivotal role in modulating the balance of intestinal flora and the gut-liver axis, while also serving as a key determinant of the growth potential of weaned piglets. However, few studies have subdivided and compared acute and chronic oxidative stress.MethodsIn this study, an intestinal model of acute oxidative stress in weaned piglets using paraquat (PQ) and a chronic oxidative stress model using D-galactosa in weaned piglets were conducted. And we further systematically compare their effects.ResultsBoth acute and chronic oxidative stress models impaired intestinal barrier function and liver function. Chronic stress caused by D-galactose can result in severe redox dysregulation, while acute stress caused by paraquat can lead to inflammation and liver damage. Additionally, the components involved in the CAR pathway were expressed differently. Chronic or acute oxidative stress can reduce the diversity and composition of intestinal flora. In the PQ group, the richness of Mogibacterium and Denitratisoma improved, but in the D-gal group, the richness of Catenisphaera and Syntrophococcus increased.DiscussionNot only does this research deepen our understanding of the effects of acute and chronic oxidative stress on intestinal functions, but it also characterizes characteristic changes in the gut flora, potentially identifying novel therapeutic targets and opening new avenues for future research.

Sediment bacterial communities are decisive drivers of nutrient cycling processes in aquaculture ecosystems and are readily affected by surrounding environmental factors. However, the knowledge of sediment nutrient accumulations and bacterial community structure is limited in the emerging polyculture systems. Herein, we investigated the profiles of sediment properties and bacterial communities in six typical polyculture ponds and primarily explored the influence of total nitrogen and phosphorus on the bacterial species and diversity. In almost all sediment samples, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Bacteroides were the dominant species at the phylum level, and the five most abundant bacterial genera were Sulfurovum, Woeseia, Ilumatobacter, Robiginitalea, and Cyanobium_PCC-6307. A clear different bacterial community was observed with the most dominant bacterial phylum Firmicutes and the lowest bacterial diversity in TZ1 pond sediment; meanwhile, the TZ1 pond also showed the highest TN and TP concentrations. Notably, sediments from WZ1 and WZ2 ponds in low-latitude regions exhibited higher bacterial richness and diversity. Based on Pearson’s correlation analysis, bacterial α-diversity indices showed significant negative correlation with sediment TP content, and TN content contributed the most to the abundance of sediment dominant bacterial genus, indicating that the bacterial community is highly associated with sediment nutrient concentrations. Moreover, co-occurrence network analysis further revealed some keystone taxa that exhibited high correlations with other bacterial species, especially the high-abundance genus Robiginitalea bridging a large number of connections. Compared to traditional mono-mariculture pattern, our study provided direct evidence of lower nutrient loadings and different bacterial communities in the polyculture ponds. This could assist polyculture practitioners in developing effective strategies for detailed nutritional management.

Abstract Objective We aimed to provide a reference based on evidence for an individualized clinical medication of high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) in osteosarcoma patients by evaluating the effect of gene polymorphism on adverse reactions of HD-MTX usage. Methods Several databases were combed for research on the association between gene polymorphisms and adverse reactions to HD-MTX up to January 2023. A meta-analysis and/or descriptive analysis on the incidence of HD-MTX-related adverse reactions were conducted by using clinical studies meeting inclusion criteria. Results Twelve studies involving 889 patients were included. There were 8, 6, 5, and 4 studies related to MTHFR C677T, MTHFR A1298C, RFC1 G80A, and MDR1 C3435T polymorphisms, respectively. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism was associated with G3-4 hepatotoxicity, G3-4 nephrotoxicity, G3-4 gastrointestinal toxicity, and G3-4 mucositis under the recessive genetic model (MM vs. Mm/mm). Limited research showed that MTHFR C677T was associated with G3-4 nephrotoxicity in the allelic genetic model (M vs. m). MTHFR A1298C polymorphism was associated with a decreased risk of adverse reactions to HD-MTX usage, without statistical significance. This review's descriptive analysis showed no significant correlation between the RFC1 G80A, and MDR1 C3435T polymorphism and adverse reactions of HD-MTX. Conclusion The MTHFR C677T mutation may enhance the risk of HD-MTX adverse reactions in osteosarcoma patients. Existing studies have not found a significant correlation between the MTHFR A1298C, RFC1 G80A, and MDR1 C3435T polymorphism and adverse reactions caused by HD-MTX. Lastly, this conclusion was limited because of few studies.

Graphene/copper composites are promising in electronic and energy fields due to their superior conductivity, but microstructure control during thermal mechanical processing (TMP) remains a crucial issue for the manufacturing of high-performance graphene/copper composites. In this study, the hot deformation behavior of graphene/copper composites was investigated by isothermal compression tests at deformation temperatures of 700~850 °C and strain rates of 0.01~10 s−1, and a constitutive equation based on the Arrhenius model and hot processing map was established. Results demonstrate that the deformation mechanism of the graphene/copper composites mainly involves dynamic recrystallization (DRX), and such DRX-mediated deformation behavior can be accurately described by the established Arrhenius model. In addition, it was found that the strain rate has a stronger impact on the DRX grain size than the deformation temperature. The optimum deformation temperature and strain rate were determined to be 800 °C and 1 s−1, respectively, with which a uniform microstructure with fine grains can be obtained.

Marine sediments are important for research in scientific fields such as marine geology, environmental testing of waters, marine biology and seabed resource exploration. Among them, mud miner is an important way to obtain sediments. However, due to the complexity of the marine environment, the seabed sampling operation is a relatively difficult and complicated project. The structural design of the sampler, the operation mode, and the interaction between the sampler and the sediment affect the sampling effect, which leads to the low efficiency of the sampler operation. In order to investigate the main factors affecting the drag force of the sampler during seafloor sampling, this paper takes a simple and portable anchor-type mud collector surface sediment sampler as a study. This paper introduces the mechanical structure and working principle of an anchor-type mud collector, establishes a mechanical model of the mud collector seafloor sampling process and derives the main factors affecting the dragging force: internal friction angle; the horizontal angle of the bi-directional shaft rod; undercut angle β of bottom cover and dragging speed. A FEM-SPH method based on the coupling of the finite element method (FEM) and the smooth particle hydrodynamics method (SPH) was proposed to simulate the dynamic process of mud collector subsea sampling, and the mechanical data of fine sand and clay were obtained through land-based experiments. Based on the comparison between experimental data and numerical simulation data, the simulation validity of the FEM-SPH method was verified. The results show that the drag force of the clay was greater than that of the fine sand in the experiment of cutting the lower cover of the mud collector into the fine sand and clay, the internal friction angle of the clay is greater than that of the fine sand; with the increase in horizontal inclination angle and the decrease in undercut angle, the dragging force gradually increased; The dragging speed ranged from 0.2 to 0.6 m/s, with an increase in the mass of clay and fine sand collected with increasing speed, resulting in a gradual increase in dragging force. This paper provides a new method to study the force of the mud collector, provides a theoretical method to reduce the intensity and difficulty of manual work in the sampling process and increase the efficiency of sampling.

This study investigated the effects of levofloxacin (LEV) and norfloxacin (NOR) on Skeletonema costatum, focusing on cell growth, chlorophyll a (Chla) content, maximal quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm), protein content, enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), and the membrane lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) content were conducted to analyze the responses of S. costatum under LEV and NOR exposure. Cell growth, Chla content, Fv/Fm, protein content, enzyme activities, and MDA content were assessed to elucidate physiological changes. Both LEV and NOR inhibited S. costatum growth, except for 10 mg/L NOR, which promoted growth. Algal cells exhibited higher sensitivity to LEV, with 96h-IC50 values of 14.770 mg/L for LEV and 44.250 mg/L for NOR. Low NOR concentration (10 mg/L) increased Chla content, while high antibiotic concentrations (>20 mg/L for LEV, >100 mg/L for NOR) decreased Chla content and Fv/Fm, indicating an impact on photosynthesis. Elevated LEV and NOR levels reduced protein and MDA content but increased GR, SOD, and GSH activities, indicating induced oxidative stress. The study provides a comprehensive analysis of LEV and NOR effects on marine microalgae growth and underlying physiological mechanisms, shedding light on potential ecological risks posed by antibiotics in marine ecosystems.

Abstract Induction of hypothermia during hibernation/torpor enables certain mammals to survive under extreme environmental conditions. However, pharmacological induction of hypothermia in most mammals remains a huge challenge. Here we show that a natural product P57 promptly induces hypothermia and decreases energy expenditure in mice. Mechanistically, P57 inhibits the kinase activity of pyridoxal kinase (PDXK), a key metabolic enzyme of vitamin B6 catalyzing phosphorylation of pyridoxal (PL), resulting in the accumulation of PL in hypothalamus to cause hypothermia. The hypothermia induced by P57 is significantly blunted in the mice with knockout of PDXK in the preoptic area (POA) of hypothalamus. We further found that P57 and PL have consistent effects on gene expression regulation in hypothalamus, and they may activate medial preoptic area (MPA) neurons in POA to induce hypothermia. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that P57 has a potential application in therapeutic hypothermia through regulation of vitamin B6 metabolism and PDXK serves as a previously unknown target of P57 in thermoregulation. In addition, P57 may serve as a chemical probe for exploring the neuron circuitry related to hypothermia state in mice.

Line structured light (LSL) measurement systems can obtain high accuracy profiles, but the overall clarity relies greatly on the sampling interval of the scanning process. Photometric stereo (PS), on the other hand, is sensitive to tiny features but has poor geometrical accuracy. Cooperative measurement with these two methods is an effective way to ensure precision and clarity results. In this paper, an LSL-PS cooperative measurement system is brought out. The calibration methods used in the LSL and PS measurement system are given. Then, a data fusion algorithm with adaptive weights is proposed, where an error function that contains the 3D point cloud matching error and normal vector error is established. The weights, which are based on the angles of adjacent normal vectors, are also added to the error function. Afterward, the fusion results can be obtained by solving linear equations. From the experimental results, it can be seen that the proposed method has the advantages of both the LSL and PS methods. The 3D reconstruction results have the merits of high accuracy and high clarity.

The abuse and irrational use of tetracyclines (TCs) in human medicine and animal husbandry has become a serious concern, affecting the ecological environment and human health. The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive and selective method using fully automatic solid-phase extraction coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of twelve TCs in water. Four isotope-labeled internal standards for TCs were used to correct matrix effects. Several parameters affecting extraction efficiency were systematically optimized, and the optimum experimental conditions found were 1.0 L water sample with 0.5 g/L Na2EDTA (pH 3.0) extracted and enriched by CNW HLB cartridge and eluted by 4 mL of acetone:methanol (v/v, 1:1). The enrichment factors were up to 798−1059 but only requiring about 60 min per six samples. Under the optimized conditions, the linearity of the method ranged from 0.2 to 100 μg/L for 12 TCs, the detection limits were as low as 0.01−0.15 ng/L, and the recoveries were in the range of 70%–118%, with relative standard deviations less than 15%. The developed method can be successfully utilized for the determination of 12 TCs in pure water, tap water, river water, and mariculture seawater. In summary, three and six TCs were detected in river water and mariculture seawater, respectively, with total concentrations of 0.074–0.520 ng/L (mean 0.248 ng/L) and 0.792–58.369 ng/L (12.629 ng/L), respectively. Tetracycline (TC) and oxytetracycline (OTC) were the dominant TCs in river water, while doxytetracycline (DXC) and OTC were dominant in mariculture seawater.

Abstract Despite the extensive developments of flexible capacitive pressure sensors, it is still elusive to simultaneously achieve excellent linearity over a broad pressure range, high sensitivity, and ultrahigh pressure resolution under large pressure preloads. Here, we present a programmable fabrication method for microstructures to integrate an ultrathin ionic layer. The resulting optimized sensor exhibits a sensitivity of 33.7 kPa−1 over a linear range of 1700 kPa, a detection limit of 0.36 Pa, and a pressure resolution of 0.00725% under the pressure of 2000 kPa. Taken together with rapid response/recovery and excellent repeatability, the sensor is applied to subtle pulse detection, interactive robotic hand, and ultrahigh-resolution smart weight scale/chair. The proposed fabrication approaches and design toolkit from this work can also be leveraged to easily tune the pressure sensor performance for varying target applications and open up opportunities to create other iontronic sensors.

Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), as brominated flame retardants, have increasingly drawn concern due to their detection in various marine organisms in recent years. The present test investigated the selective accumulation, depuration, and bioisomerization of HBCDs in different tissues and organs of Nibea albiflora, as well as the genetic metabolic behavior of HBCDs between parents and offspring. In a semi-static water environment, N. albiflora were exposed to individual HBCD diastereoisomers (α-HBCD, β-HBCD, or γ-HBCD) at a concentration of 0.4 μg/L for bioaccumulation, followed by clean food for depuration. During the exposure period, the highest concentrations of these HBCDs were observed in the intestine and gill of N. albiflora. α-HBCD was detected in all exposure groups, suggesting that both β-HBCD and γ-HBCD could be bioisomerized to α-HBCD in N. albiflora. In addition, there was no bioisomerization of α-HBCD to either β-HBCD or γ-HBCD, and there was no bioisomerization between β-HBCD and γ-HBCD. The half-lives (t1/2) were variable among different diastereoisomers, following an order of α-HBCD > γ-HBCD > β-HBCD. The most rapid depuration rate of HBCDs was discovered in the liver while muscle showed the least. Additionally, prior to spawning, the parent fish were exposed to contaminated feed (silkworms sprayed with 200 μL of a 30 μg/mL HBCD solution) for 6 days. By comparing the HBCDs concentrations in the maternal gonad, fertilized eggs, hatching eggs, larvae, and juveniles, it was determined that the maternal transfer coefficients for HBCDs were approximately 1, indicating dynamic equilibrium of HBCDs throughout the process from maternal tissue to progeny development. Differences in HBCDs pattern between organs observed in the experiment support a proposal of an organ-specific diastereomer accumulation.

We previously found that monocyte locomotion inhibitory factor has a neuroprotective effect on ischemic brain injury during the acute phase of stroke. Therefore, we modified the structure of an anti-inflammatory monocyte locomotion inhibitory factor peptide to construct an active cyclic peptide—Cyclo (MQCNS) (LZ-3)—and investigated its effects on ischemic stroke. In this study, we established a rat model of ischemic stroke by occluding the middle cerebral artery and then administered LZ-3 (2 or 4 mg/kg) via the tail vein for 7 consecutive days. Our results showed that LZ-3 (2 or 4 mg/kg) substantially decreased infarct volume, reduced cortical nerve cell death, improved neurological function, reduced cortical and hippocampal injury, and decreased the levels of inflammatory factors in the blood and brain tissues. In a well-differentiated, oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation-induced BV2 cell model of post-stroke, LZ-3 (100 μM) inhibited the JAK1-STAT6 signaling pathway. LZ-3 regulated microglia/macrophage polarization from the M1 to the M2 type and inhibited microglia/macrophage phagocytosis and migration via the JAK1/STAT6 signaling pathway. To conclude, LZ-3 regulates microglial activation by inhibiting the JAK1/STAT6 signaling pathway and improves functional recovery post-stroke.

Abstract The presence of drugs in surface and groundwaters adversely affects the physiological function of non-target organisms due special activities that can pose a serious threats to various forms of aquatic life. Psychotropic drugs are one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of environmentally-relevant concentrations of the antipsychotic drugs, sulpiride and clozapine, on dopaminergic (DAergic) and serotonergic (5-HTergic) neurotransmitter systems in the brain of zebrafish. Adult zebrafish (AB strain) were exposed to the environmentally-relevant concentrations of sulpiride, clozapine, or a mixture of sulpiride and clozapine. The effects of the drugs on the mRNA and protein levels of major functional molecules in DAergic and 5-HTergic systems were then analyzed in the telencephalon and diencephalon. Both drugs induced abnormal mRNA and protein levels of important functional molecules of the DA and 5-HT signaling pathways in both telencephalon and diencephalon, as shown by the abnormal transcriptional levels of TH, DAT, DR D1, DR D2, MAO, TPH, serotonin transporter (SERT), 5-HTR 1AA, 5-HTR 1B, 5-THR 2AA, and 5-HTR 2B, and the abnormal translational levels of DAT, DR D2, SERT, 5-HTR 1A, 5-HTR 1B, and 5-HTR 2B. In addition, we observed a specificity in the adverse effects of these antipsychotic drugs, in terms of doses and brain parts. Compared to their effects alone, the drug mixture had a weaker effect on the DA and 5-HT systems, suggesting an antagonistic interaction between sulpiride and clozapine. Our findings suggest that sulpiride and clozapine interfere with DAergic and 5-HTergic neurotransmitter systems in the telencephalon and diencephalon of zebrafish, resulting in possible effects on brain functions and posing a serious threat to the health of zebrafish.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is an enzyme cofactor, co-substrate, and redox factor in all living cells and is necessary for maintaining cell metabolism. It has been shown that appropriate supplementation of NAD+ precursors or inhibition of NAD+-depleting enzymes can promote mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and improve host energy utilization efficiency. In addition, increasing evidence indicates that the gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in host metabolism. Theoretically, there should be a close correlation among NAD+, gut microbiota, and host metabolism; however, the information is limited. In this review, we summarize the metabolic process of NAD+ and its impact on host metabolism, the link between gut microbiota and host metabolism, as well as the potential effects of NAD+ on microbial metabolism, providing a new perspective on the interaction between gut microbiota and host metabolism.

The study was conducted to investigate the regulatory mechanism of glutamine (Gln) on intestinal inflammation in an Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (E. coli LPS)-induced in vivo and in vitro models. Piglets (n = 8) weaned at 21 d of age were fed a basal diet (control and LPS groups) or 1% Gln diet (Gln + LPS group) ad libitum for 4 weeks. On d 22, 24, 26 and 28, piglets in the LPS and Gln + LPS groups were intraperitoneally injected with E. coli LPS. Intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) (n = 6) induced by LPS were used to assess related mechanisms and compound C was used to inhibit adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity. Our current results showed that compared with the LPS treatment, the Gln + LPS treatment had better growth performance and greater villus height (P

Shaziling pig, a Chinese indigenous breed, has been classified as a fatty pig model. However, the gut microbial development and role in lipid metabolism in Shaziling pigs has been rarely reported. Here, we compared the lipid metabolic and microbial profiles at 30, 60, 90, 150, 210, and 300 d of age between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs. Predictably, there were marked differences in the liver lipids (i.e., cholesterol, glucose, and low-density lipoprotein) and the lipid related expressions (i.e., SREBP1/2, LXRα/β, DGAT1/2, and FABP1-3) between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs. Bacteria sequencing in the ileal digesta and mucosa showed that Shaziling pigs had a higher α-diversity and higher abundances of probiotics, such as Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus amylovorus, and Clostridium butyricum. Thirty-five differentiated metabolites were further identified in the mucosa between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs, which were enriched in the carbohydrate, protein, glucose and amino acid metabolism and bile acid biosynthesis. Furthermore, 7 differentiated microbial species were markedly correlated with metabolites, indicating the role of gut microbiota in the host metabolism. Next, the role of differentiated L. johnsonii in lipid metabolism was validated in Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire (DLY) pigs and the results showed that L. johnsonii mono-colonization promoted lipid deposition and metabolism by altering gut microbiota (i.e., Megasphaera elsdenii and L. johnsonii) and DGAT1/DGAT2/CD36-PPARγ gene expressions. In conclusion, Shaziling pigs exhibited different metabolic and microbial profiles compared with Yorkshire pigs, which might have contributed to the diverse metabolic phenotypes, and the significant enrichment of L. johnsonii in Shaziling pigs promoted lipid metabolism and obesity of DLY pigs, which provided a novel idea to improve the fat content of lean pigs.

The interaction between bacteria and insects can significantly impact a wide range of different areas because bacteria and insects are widely distributed around the globe. The bacterial-insect interactions have the potential to directly affect human health since insects are vectors for disease transmission, and their interactions can also have economic consequences. In addition, they have been linked to high mortality rates in economically important insects, resulting in substantial economic losses. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are types of non-coding RNAs involved in regulating gene expression post-transcriptionally. The length of miRNAs ranges from 19 to 22 nucleotides. MiRNAs, in addition to their ability to exhibit dynamic expression patterns, have a diverse range of targets. This enables them to govern various physiological activities in insects, like innate immune responses. Increasing evidence suggests that miRNAs have a crucial biological role in bacterial infection by influencing immune responses and other mechanisms for resistance. This review focuses on some of the most recent and exciting discoveries made in recent years, including the correlation between the dysregulation of miRNA expression in the context of bacterial infection and the progression of the infection. Furthermore, it describes how they profoundly impact the immune responses of the host by targeting the Toll, IMD, and JNK signaling pathways. It also emphasizes the biological function of miRNAs in regulating immune responses in insects. Finally, it also discusses current knowledge gaps about the function of miRNAs in insect immunity, in addition to areas that require more research in the future.

Abstract The study of the selective feeding of bivalves is necessary in order to improve our understanding of bivalve growth and development, which helps to better define the roles of bivalves in their ecosystems. Little information is currently available on the feeding preferences of bivalves in natural waters, since all diets are provided as single or mixed algae in experiments. In this study, high-throughput sequencing of the 23S rRNA gene was performed to explore differences in the feeding selectivity of Mercenaria mercenaria, Meretrix meretrix and Ruditapes philippinarum during different stages of their culturing to reveal their feeding preferences in natural waters. We found that the three bivalve species had different preferential selection of phytoplankton genera, indicating specific selection and avoidance of particular types of algae during their development in aquaculture. M. mercenaria was the most selective of the bivalves, followed by M. meretrix and then R. philippinarum. With the growth of M. mercenaria and M. meretrix, more kinds of phytoplankton could be ingested. In addition, high-throughput sequencing showed that some picophytoplankton including Synechococcus, Microchloropsis, and Chrysochromulina were dominant in the hepatopancreas samples obtained from these three bivalves. Therefore, the importance of these pico-sized algae in bivalve diets should be reassessed.

Background/purpose: Dental students are particularly vulnerable for needlestick injuries (NSI). However, the epidemiology of NSI exposures among Chinese dental students was rarely reported. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of NSI among dental students in a major teaching institution of China, and to identify associated factors. Materials and methods: A self-administrated online questionnaire was developed based on previously published studies, and distributed to dental students of Class 2011–2015 recruited from Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology. Results: Two hundred and sixty-eight dental students including 38.8% of males and 61.2% of females (response rate of 90.0%) completed the survey. Approximately 36.2% of the respondents had sustained at least one NSI. A total of 112 NSI cases were reported. The majority of NSIs were related to the procedures of local anesthesia administration (15.2%) and tooth cleaning or scaling (15.2%). Syringe needles, dental burs and ultrasonic chips were the most notorious devices. Statistical analysis showed significant distribution in NSI occurrence between July–September and October–December. The main cause was lapse in concentration (67.9%), followed by fatigue (22.3%). Up to 66.1% of the exposures occurred when the student was working alone, while only 10.7% with assisting. Unfortunately, 26.8% of the incidents were under-reported. Conclusion: Dental students are prone to needlestick injuries. The present study clearly reveals a need for increased awareness of NSI prevention among dental students. The quality of infection control education at dental teaching institutions is crucial and indispensable for reducing NSI exposures.

Abstract Walking assistance can be realized by active and passive robotic walkers when their users walk on even roads. However, fast signal processing and real-time control are necessary for active robotic walkers when the users walk on slopes, while assistive forces cannot be provided by passive robotic walkers when the users walk uphill. A robotic walker with an active-passive hybrid actuator (APHA) was developed in this study. The APHA, which consists of a rotary magnetorheological (MR) brake and a DC motor, can provide mobility assistance to users walking both uphill and downhill via the cooperative operation of the MR brake and DC motor. The rotary MR brake was designed with a T-shaped configuration, and the system was optimized to minimize the brake volume. Prototypes of the APHA and robotic walker were constructed. A control algorithm for the robotic walker was developed based on the characteristics of the APHA and the structure of the robotic walker. The mechanical properties of the APHA were characterized, and experiments were conducted to evaluate the mobility assistance supplied by the robotic walker on different roads. The results show that the APHA can meet the requirements of the robotic walker, and suitable assistive forces can be provided by the robotic walker, which has a simple mechanical structure and control method.

How to infer transient cells and cell-fate transitions from snap-shot single cell transcriptome dataset remains a major challenge. Here the authors present a multiscale approach to construct single-cell dynamical manifold, quantify cell stability, and compute transition trajectory and probability between cell states.

Objective: To investigate the effects of Mingmu Xiaoyao granules (MMXY) on the morphology and function of the retina and the mechanism of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway-related proteins in rats with anxiety and depression induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS).Methods: Fifty-two male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly allocated to either a control (n = 14) or a simulated CUMS group (n = 38). The CUMS model was established successfully at 4 weeks. Six rats in each group were randomly selected to be sacrificed and their retinas isolated for histological examination. At 5 weeks, rats in the CUMS group were randomly allocated to the following groups: Model (CUMS + pure water), MMXY-H (CUMS + MMXY 7.2 g/kg/d), MMXY-L (CUMS + MMXY 3.6 g/kg/d), and CBZ (CUMS + Carbamazepine 20 mg/kg/d), with eight rats in each group. All rats were given the relevant intervention once a day. At 12 weeks, sucrose preference and open field tests were performed to evaluate the anxiety and depression status of rats. In live rats, optical coherence tomography angiography was used to measure retinal thickness and blood flow, while electroretinograms (ERGs) and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were used to evaluate retinal function. The next day, the specimens were sacrificed for serological, histological, immunofluorescence, Western blot and transmission electron microscopy examinations to explore the mechanism of MMXY in CUMS rats.Results: MMXY improved the anxiety and depression-like behavior of rats. Results of optical coherence tomography angiography showed that MMXY improved retinal inner thickness and blood flow in CUMS rats. MMXY improved the amplitude of a- and b-waves in the scotopic and photopic ERG, as well as N2 and P2 peak time and amplitude in the flash-VEP in CUMS rats. Retinal histological staining and transmission electron microscopy showed that MMXY reversed retinal morphology and ultrastructure in CUMS rats. MMXY reduced the expression of Beclin1 and LC3I/II proteins, regulated the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, inhibited autophagy, and had a protective effect on the retina in CUMS rats.Conclusion: MMXY may effectively improve retinal morphology and function as well as anxiety and depression-like behaviors in CUMS rats by regulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

Abstract Highly sensitive and multimodal sensors have recently emerged for a wide range of applications, including epidermal electronics, robotics, health‐monitoring devices and human–machine interfaces. However, cross‐sensitivity prevents accurate measurements of the target input signals when a multiple of them are simultaneously present. Therefore, the selection of the multifunctional materials and the design of the sensor structures play a significant role in multimodal sensors with decoupled sensing mechanisms. Hence, this review article introduces varying methods to decouple different input signals for realizing truly multimodal sensors. Early efforts explore different outputs to distinguish the corresponding input signals applied to the sensor in sequence. Next, this study discusses the methods for the suppression of the interference, signal correction, and various decoupling strategies based on different outputs to simultaneously detect multiple inputs. The recent insights into the materials' properties, structure effects, and sensing mechanisms in recognition of different input signals are highlighted. The presence of the various decoupling methods also helps avoid the use of complicated signal processing steps and allows multimodal sensors with high accuracy for applications in bioelectronics, robotics, and human–machine interfaces. Finally, current challenges and potential opportunities are discussed in order to motivate future technological breakthroughs.

The large-scale cultivation of S. fusiforme was hypothesized to effectively improve water quality and environmental characteristics. Specifically, such cultivation could promote habitat restoration effects by increasing DO and pH levels in addition to decreasing nitrogen and phosphorus levels within cultivation area waters. Phytoplankton diversity could also reflect the quality and health of waters. This study explored the effects of large-scale cultivation of Sargassum fusiforme on the biodiversity and the ecosystem of a phytoplankton community in the coastal waters of Dongtou island, China. S. fusiforme cultivation increased DO and pH values within the area but decreased N contents of the cultivation area waters. A total of 75 phytoplankton species were identified based on morphological identification, while a parallel survey of phytoplankton communities using high-throughput cultivation-independent sequencing identified 601 phytoplankton OTUs. Large scale cultivation of S. fusiforme was associated with increased phytoplankton diversity as reflected by multiple alpha and beta diversity metrics. These data suggested that S. fusiforme cultivation could affect phytoplankton community structure when the S. fusiforme biomass reached maximum levels. Redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that S. fusiforme played an important role in controlling the dynamics of phytoplankton communities in coastal ecosystems. Thus, the results suggested that S. fusiforme cultivation could enhance phytoplankton community biodiversity. Overall, this study demonstrated that large-scale cultivation of S. fusiforme in coastal regions was an effective approach for mitigating environmental problems in marine ecosystems.

Bacterial community plays a vital role in the open-oceanic aquaculture ecosystem, and its stability is crucial for maintaining the health of mariculture fish. However, there are no reported studies on microbial communities in the culture environment of marine fish cages. In this study, bacterial community composition and diversity of seawater and sediment habitats from 5 large yellow croaker cage farms were first investigated by 16S rRNA-based high-throughput sequencing. The composition of bacterial communities was visualized at the phylum and genus levels. Meanwhile, biological and ecological functions were also predicted. The bacterial diversity observed at 3 inshore sampling sites was higher in seawater groups than that in sediment groups. The alpha diversity indices were influenced by the geographic location, especially the inshore site Yueqing (YQ), showing higher values than other sampling sites. The pathogenic bacteria were prevalent in the aquaculture environments, and probiotics showed a relatively low proportion by comparing the potential pathogens. Our study provides baseline data on bacterial communities and diversity in the open-oceanic environments of cage-culture large yellow croaker.

The large-scale use of sulfonamide antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine has seriously endangered the ecological environment and human health. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a simple and robust method for the simultaneous determination of seventeen sulfonamides in water using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry coupled with fully automated solid-phase extraction. Seventeen isotope-labeled internal standards for sulfonamides were used to correct matrix effects. Several parameters affecting extraction efficiency were systematically optimized, and the enrichment factors were up to 982−1033 and only requiring about 60 min per six samples. Under the optimized conditions, this method manifested good linearity (0.05–100 μg/L), high sensitivity (detection limits: 0.01–0.05 ng/L), and satisfactory recoveries (79–118%) with acceptable relative standard deviations (0.3–14.5%, n = 5). The developed method can be successfully utilized for the determination of 17 sulfonamides in pure water, tap water, river water, and seawater. In total, six and seven sulfonamides were detected in river water and seawater, respectively, with a total concentration of 8.157–29.676 ng/L and 1.683–36.955 ng/L, respectively, and sulfamethoxazole was the predominant congener.

Ornithine α-ketoglutarate (OKG), a nutritional compound, is an amino acid salt with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects on humans and animals. Ulcerative colitis (UC), as an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), leads to chronic intestinal inflammatory dysfunction. This study evaluated the optimal dosage of OKG in healthy mice. Then, a mouse model of acute colitis was established using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), and the preventive effect of OKG on DSS-induced colitis in mice was explored through analysis of serum inflammatory cytokines and fecal microbiota. Initially, the mice were randomly divided into a control group, a group given a low dose of OKG (LOKG: 0.5%), a group given a medium dose of OKG (MOKG: 1%), and a group given a high dose of OKG (HOKG: 1.5%); they remained in these groups for the entire 14-day experimental period. Our results demonstrated that 1% OKG supplementation increased body weight, serum growth hormone (GH), insulin (INS), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Tyr, and His and decreased urea nitrogen (BUN), NH3L, and Ile. Then, a 2 × 2 factor design was used for a total of 40 mice, with diet (a standard diet or a 1% OKG diet) and challenge (4% DSS or not) as the main factors. During days 14 to 21, the DSS mice were administered 4% DSS to induce colitis. The results revealed that OKG alleviated weight loss and reversed the increases in colonic histological damage induced by DSS. OKG also increased serum IL-10 secretion. Moreover, OKG enhanced the abundance of Firmicutes and decreased that of Bacteriodetes at the phylum level and particularly enhanced the abundance of Alistipes and reduced that of Parabacterioides at the genus level. Our results indicated that OKG promotes growth performance and hormone secretion and regulates serum biochemical indicators and amino acid concentrations. Furthermore, 1% OKG supplementation prevents DSS-induced colitis in mice via altering microbial compositions and reducing the secretion of inflammatory cytokines in serum.

Glutamic acid (Glu) and aspartic acid (Asp) are acidic amino acids with regulatory roles in nutrition, energy metabolism, and oxidative stress. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of low-protein diets supplemented with Glu and Asp on the intestinal barrier function and energy metabolism in weaned piglets challenged with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Forty piglets were randomly divided into 5 groups: NC, PC, PGA, PG, and PA (n = 8 for each group). Pigs in the NC and PC groups were fed a low-protein diet, while pigs in the PGA, PG, or PA groups were fed the low-protein diet supplemented with 2.0% Glu +1.0% Asp, 2.0% Glu, or 1.0% Asp, respectively. On day 8 and 11, pigs in the NC group were intraperitoneally injected with saline (1 mL/kg BW), while pigs in the other groups were intraperitoneally administered 10% H2O2 (1 mL/kg BW). On day 14, all pigs were sacrificed to collect jejunum and ileum following the blood sample collection in the morning. Notably, low-protein diets supplemented with Glu or Asp ameliorated the intestinal oxidative stress response in H2O2-challenged piglets by decreasing intestinal expression of genes (P < 0.05) (e.g., manganese superoxide dismutase [MnSOD], glutathione peroxidase [Gpx]-1, and Gpx-4) encoding oxidative stress-associated proteins, reducing the serum concentration of diamine oxidase (P

Abstract Ossifying fibroma (OF) and fibrous dysplasia (FD) are two fibro-osseous lesions with overlapping clinicopathological features, making diagnosis challenging. In this study, we applied a whole-genome shallow sequencing approach to facilitate differential diagnosis via precise profiling of copy number alterations (CNAs) using minute amounts of DNA extracted from morphologically correlated microdissected tissue samples. Freshly frozen tissue specimens from OF (n = 29) and FD (n = 28) patients were obtained for analysis. Lesion fibrous tissues and surrounding normal tissues were obtained by laser capture microdissection (LCM), with ~30–50 cells (5 000–10 000 µm2) per sample. We found that the rate of recurrent CNAs in OF cases was much higher (44.8%, 13 of 29) than that in FD cases (3.6%, 1 of 28). Sixty-nine percent (9 of 13) of the CNA-containing OF cases involved segmental amplifications and deletions on Chrs 7 and 12. We also identified eight CNA-associated genes (HILPDA, CALD1, C1GALT1, MICALL2, PHF14, AIMP2, MDM2, and CDK4) with amplified expression, which was consistent with the copy number changes. We further confirmed a jaw lesion with a previous uncertain diagnosis due to its ambiguous morphological features and the absence of GNAS mutation as OF based on the typical Chr 12 amplification pattern in its CNA profile. Moreover, analysis of a set of longitudinal samples collected from an individual with a cellular lesion in suspicion of OF at the first surgery, recurrence and the latest malignant transformation revealed identical CNA patterns at the three time points, suggesting that copy number profiling can be used as an important tool to identify borderline lesions or lesions with malignant potential. Overall, CNA profiling of fibro-osseous lesions can greatly improve differential diagnosis between OF and FD and help predict disease progression.

Abstract Background While inflammatory diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis induced by dental plaque biofilms constitute the majority of gingival lesions, gingiva can also be affected by a variety of diseases with aetiologies different from bacterial biofilms. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the frequency and distribution of non-dental plaque-induced gingival diseases (NDPIGDs) in the Chinese population in a single institute. Methods A total of 6859 samples of biopsied gingival diseases during the period 2000–2019 were obtained from the Department of Pathology, Peking University Hospital of Stomatology. Lesions were categorized by histopathological diagnosis, pathological characteristics and the new classification of gingival health and gingival diseases/conditions. Demographic information, such as gender, location, and age, were also analyzed. Results Among 6859 biopsied NDPIGD samples, the five most frequent diagnoses included oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC, n = 2094), fibrous hyperplasia (n = 2026), pyogenic granuloma (n = 478), epithelial dysplasia (n = 477), and epithelial hyperplasia/hyperkeratosis (n = 436). All types could be grouped into nine categories according to their pathological characteristics. The most common biopsied NDPIGDs category was “hyperplastic lesions” (n = 2648, 38.61%), followed by “malignant neoplasms” (n = 2275, 33.17%). The most common diagnosis types in each category were fibrous hyperplasia and OSCC. Of all NDPIGDs, most lesions could be categorized into the new classification of gingival health and gingival diseases/conditions; only 7.07% did not fit the current classification system. Conclusions The present study is the first report on the frequency and distribution of biopsied NDPIGDs in a Chinese population. Unlike previous studies, the most prevalent categories were “hyperplastic lesions” and “malignant neoplasms”. The proportion of “malignant neoplasms” and “oral potentially malignant disorders” was remarkably higher than in previous researches. Nevertheless, the study provided epidemiological information on many NDPIGDs, which could be useful for future health policies as well as screening programs.

Both the composition of cell types and their spatial distribution in a tissue play a critical role in cellular function, organ development, and disease progression. For example, intratumor heterogeneity and the distribution of transcriptional and genetic events in single cells drive the genesis and development of cancer. However, it can be challenging to fully characterize the molecular profile of cells in a tissue with high spatial resolution because microscopy has limited ability to extract comprehensive genomic information, and the spatial resolution of genomic techniques tends to be limited by dissection. There is a growing need for tools that can be used to explore the relationship between histological features, gene expression patterns, and spatially correlated genomic alterations in healthy and diseased tissue samples. Here, we present a technique that combines label-free histology with spatially resolved multiomics in unfixed and unstained tissue sections. This approach leverages stimulated Raman scattering microscopy to provide chemical contrast that reveals histological tissue architecture, allowing for high-resolution in situ laser microdissection of regions of interests. These microtissue samples are then processed for DNA and RNA sequencing to identify unique genetic profiles that correspond to distinct anatomical regions. We demonstrate the capabilities of this technique by mapping gene expression and copy number alterations to histologically defined regions in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Our approach provides complementary insights in tumorigenesis and offers an integrative tool for macroscale cancer tissues with spatial multiomics assessments.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is one of the main causes of diarrhea in weaned piglets, and ornithine α-ketoglutarate (OKG) as a food supplement has been shown to improve intestinal immune status in animals and humans. However, it remains unknown whether OKG alleviates inflammation through the regulation of gut microbiota and its metabolites on ETEC-infected piglets. This study was conducted to explore the impact of OKG on growth performance, immunity, and ileal mucosa microbiota and its metabolites in piglets infected with ETEC. On a total of 40 pigs, a 2 × 2 factor design was performed; the major factors were diet (basal diet or 1% OKG diet) and challenge (E. coli or LB Broth). The results showed that ETEC-infection inhibited growth performance, and OKG supplementation alleviated growth performance. Interestingly, ETEC-infection increased the serum TNF-α and IL-6, decreased the serum IL-10, downregulated the mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, MyD88, and improved the mRNA expression of IL-8, IL-18, and TLR4. OKG inhibited serum IL-6, suppressed the phosphorylation of downstream signals of NF-κB/JNK in the ileum, and enhanced serum IL-10 and ileum SIgA in ETEC-challenged piglets. OKG supplementation enhanced the mRNA expression of IL-1β and IL-10 and reduced NF-κB and MyD88 in the ileum. Importantly, OKG reversed intestinal microbiota dysfunction, including the diversity of ileal microbiota, the relative abundances of Actinobacillus, Turicibacter, and [Acetivibrio]_ethanolgignens_group, which significantly affected arachidonic acid metabolism and primary bile acid biosynthesis. Collectively, our results suggest that OKG improves growth performance, regulates immunity, and ileal mucosa microbiota and its metabolites in ETEC-infected piglets.

AimsSmall peptides are more energy-saving and efficiently absorbed compared to amino acids. Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of the Lys-Lys dipeptide on the improvement of growth performance, amino acid metabolism, and gut development in suckling piglets.Methods and ResultsTwenty-eight newborn suckling piglets were orally administrated with 0.1%, 1%, and 5% Lys-Lys dipeptide for 21 days. Our results showed that the Lys-Lys dipeptide has no significant effect on growth performance and intestinal morphology compared with the control group. We also found that the 1% Lys-Lys dipeptide significantly increased the concentrations of serum Lys, Thr, Phe, and Pro while decreasing Cys compared to the control group. Similarly, the 5% Lys-Lys dipeptide markedly increased the concentrations of serum Lys, Iso, Thr, Asp, Glu, and Pro compared to the control group. Moreover, the Lys-Lys dipeptide downregulated the expression of jejunal Slc7a1, Slc7a2, and Slc15a1 and ileal Slc7a2. Additionally, the Lys-Lys dipeptide decreased the microbiota richness indices and relative abundance of Bacteroidales.ConclusionIn this study, we found that the Lys-Lys dipeptide contributes to the metabolism of amino acids but failed to affect the growth performance of piglets. Additionally, the Lys-Lys dipeptide decreased the relative abundance of Bacteroidales. These results provide a theoretical for the future application and research of Lys-Lys dipeptide in intestinal development of suckling piglets.

Oyster peptide (OP) has exhibited useful biological activities and can be used in multi-functional foods. OP has been reported to play a significant role in intestinal protection, but its specific mechanism is still not completely understood. The aim of this study was to analyze the potential effect of OP on oxidative damage of mice intestine induced by cyclophosphamide (Cy). The experimental results revealed that intragastric administration of OP significantly increased average bodyweight, improved ileum tissue morphology and villus structure, as well as increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in oxidized mice serum and liver. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the mice serum and liver homogenate was found to be markedly decreased. Moreover, OP significantly increased the relative mRNA expression levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) and heme oxidase-1 (HO-1) in ileum. Western-blot results indicated that prior administration of OP significantly up-regulated the Nrf2 production in ileum, and substantially decreased then Keap1 gene expression. In conclusion, intake of OP was found to markedly improve intestinal oxidative stress in vivo, and this effect was primarily mediated through the simulation of antioxidant Nrf2-Keap1 signaling pathway. This study is beneficial to the application of peptide nutrients in the prevention or mitigation of intestinal oxidative damage.

To understand the potential mechanisms of dietary protein on intestinal and host health, we studied the immunomodulatory effects of isocaloric diets with high or low crude protein (CP) contents on young adult Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. A total of 180 healthy male rats were randomly assigned to six groups (six replicate pens per treatment with five rats per pen) and fed diets with 10% CP, 14% CP, 20% CP (control), 28% CP, 38% CP, and 50% CP. Compared with the control diet, the rats fed the 14% CP diet significantly elevated lymphocyte cell counts in the peripheral blood and ileum, whereas the 38% CP diet significantly activated the expression of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in the colonic mucosa (p < 0.05). Moreover, the 50% CP diet reduced growth performance and fat deposition and increased the percentages of CD4+ T, B, and NK cells in the peripheral blood and the colonic mucosal expression of IL-8, TNF-α, and TGF-β. Overall, rats fed the 14% CP diet enhanced host immunity by increasing the numbers of immune cells, and the immunological state and growth of SD rats were negatively impacted by the diet containing 50% CP.

In order to obtain and analyze the operator's intention comprehensively and accurately in human-robot interaction, an array-type flexible tactile sensor was designed. The sensor was encapsulated into a tactile handle to sense the grasping state of the human hand in real time. According to the analysis of different operators' grasping posture and grasping habits, the grasping state was defined as 5 modes. Based on Harris feature point positioning and extraction, a method of grasping posture conversion was proposed to ensure the completeness and standard of the extracted grasping features. A set of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) suitable for the real-time classification of the grasping intention was built to distinguish the grasping state sensed by the handle in real time, accurately determine the operator's intention, and complete the interaction with the robot. Using a UR collaborative robot as the experimental platform and the haptic handle as the intent sensing device, the intent-behaviour mapping relationship was constructed to control the motion of the UR collaborative robot. The experimental results show that the classification accuracy of operation intention is as high as 97.87%.

Abstract The influences of water washing treatment on the properties of Ulva prolifera-derived biochar (U.P-biochar) and its sorption characteristics of ofloxacin (OFL) were investigated. The results showed that the water washing treatment significantly changed the physiochemical structures of U.P-biochars, and improved the sorption capacity of OFL. The sorption capacity of OFL by U.P-biochar was closely dependent on pyrolysis temperature (200–600 °C) and equilibrium solution pH (3–11). Different sorption mechanisms (e.g. cation exchange, electrostatic attraction, H-bond and cationic–π and π–π interactions) were dominant for specific U.P-biochars under various pH regions (acidic, neutral and alkaline). Moreover, the unwashed and washed U.P-biochars prepared at 200 °C (BC200 and BCW200) showed a higher sorption capacity of OFL at pH = 7. The two-compartment first-order model provided an appropriate description of the sorption kinetics of OFL by BC200 and BCW200 (R 2 > 0.98), which revealed that the contribution ratios between the fast and slow sorption compartments (f fast /f slow, 1.55 for BC200 and 1.25 for BCW200) reduced after water washing treatment of U.P-biochar. The values of n for the Freundlich model were less than 1, which demonstrated that the sorption of OFL by BC200 and BCW200 was favourable and nonlinear. Also, the sorption of OFL by BC200 and BCW200 increased with an increase in solution temperature and the sorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. This study provides valuable information for being a primary consideration in the production and application of U.P-biochar.

The goal of prebiotic applications from different sources is to improve the gut ecosystem where the host and microbiota can benefit from prebiotics. It has already been recognized that prebiotics have potential roles in the gut ecosystem because gut microbiota ferment complex dietary macronutrients and carry out a broad range of functions in the host body, such as the production of nutrients and vitamins, protection against pathogens, and maintenance of immune system balance. The gut ecosystem is very crucial and can be affected by numerous factors consisting of dietary constituents and commensal bacteria. This review focuses on recent scientific evidence, confirming a beneficial effect of prebiotics on animal health, particularly in terms of protection against pathogenic bacteria and increasing the number of beneficial bacteria that may improve epithelial cell barrier functions. It has also been reviewed that modification of the gut ecosystem through the utilization of prebiotics significantly affects the intestinal health of animals. However, the identification and characterization of novel potential prebiotics remain a topical issue and elucidation of the metagenomics relationship between gut microbiota alteration and prebiotic substances is necessary for future prebiotic studies.

Intern physicians are generally more burdened by stress than the general population. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the current situation regarding burnout and explore its association with the self-evaluation of competence among Chinese dental interns. A self-administered anonymous survey was conducted on 91 dental interns in the Peking University School of Stomatology, from August 2019 to June 2020. It consisted of a psychological stress questionnaire, including burnout and self-evaluation of clinical competence. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to determine the differences between self-evaluation scores of clinical competence. Results showed average scores for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment of 22.22 ± 9.04, 8.16 ± 5.21, and 36.08 ± 7.76, respectively. Dental clinical technology was considered more useful than other clinical competencies, and there was a correlation between its importance and the stress caused by its deficiency (r = −0.201, p = 0.056). Significant associations were found between stress due to a lack of dental clinical technology and high emotional exhaustion (r = 0.273, p

Gesture is a natural form of human communication, and it is of great significance in human–computer interaction. In the dynamic gesture recognition method based on deep learning, the key is to obtain comprehensive gesture feature information. Aiming at the problem of inadequate extraction of spatiotemporal features or loss of feature information in current dynamic gesture recognition, a new gesture recognition architecture is proposed, which combines feature fusion network with variant convolutional long short‐term memory (ConvLSTM). The architecture extracts spatiotemporal feature information from local, global and deep aspects, and combines feature fusion to alleviate the loss of feature information. Firstly, local spatiotemporal feature information is extracted from video sequence by 3D residual network based on channel feature fusion. Then the authors use the variant ConvLSTM to learn the global spatiotemporal information of dynamic gesture, and introduce the attention mechanism to change the gate structure of ConvLSTM. Finally, a multi‐feature fusion depthwise separable network is used to learn higher‐level features including depth feature information. The proposed approach obtains very competitive performance on the Jester dataset with the classification accuracies of 95.59%, achieving state‐of‐the‐art performance with 99.65% accuracy on the SKIG (Sheffifield Kinect Gesture) dataset.