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Ensuring optimal infant nutrition is crucial for the health and development of children. Many infants aged 0–6 months are fed with infant formula rather than breast milk. Research on cancer cell lines and animal models is limited to examining the nutrition effects of formula and breast milk, as it does not comprehensively consider absorption, metabolism, and the health and social determinants of the infant and its physiology. Our study utilized small intestine organoids induced from human embryo stem cell (ESC) to compare the nutritional effects of breast milk from five donors during their postpartum lactation period of 1–6 months and three types of Stage 1 infant formulae from regular retail stores. Using transcriptomics and untargeted metabolomics approaches, we focused on the differences such as cell growth and development, cell junctions, and extracellular matrix. We also analyzed the roles of pathways including AMPK, Hippo, and Wnt, and identified key genes such as ALPI, SMAD3, TJP1, and WWTR1 for small intestine development. Through observational and in-vitro analysis, our study demonstrates ESC-derived organoids might be a promising model for exploring nutritional effects and underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve a micro-destructive and rapid measurement of the wood density of standing trees, this study investigated the possibility of the unified modeling of multiple tree species, the reliability of the micro drilling resistance method for measuring wood density, the relationship between drilling needle resistance and wood density, and whether moisture content has a significant impact on the model. First, 231 tree cores and drill resistance data were sampled from Pinus massoniana, Cunninghamia lanceolate, and Cryptomeria fortunei. The basic density and moisture content of each core were measured, and the average value of each resistance data record was calculated. Second, the average drill resistance, the natural logarithm of average drill resistance, and absolute moisture content were used as independent variables, while the basic wood density was used as the dependent variable. Third, the total model of the three tree species and sub-model for each tree species were established through a stepwise regression method. Finally, the accuracy of each model was compared and analyzed with that of using the average basic density of each tree species as an estimated density. The estimated accuracy of the total model, sub model, and average wood density modeling data were 90.070%, 93.865%, and 92.195%, respectively. The results revealed that the estimation accuracy of the sub-model was 1.670 percentage points higher than that of the average wood density modeling data, while the estimation accuracy of the total model was 2.125 percentage points lower than that of the average wood density modeling data. Additionally, except for Cryptomeria fortunei, the natural logarithm of drill resistance significantly influenced the wood density model at a significance level of 0.05. Moreover, moisture content significantly affected the total model and sub-models of Pinus massoniana at a significance level of 0.05. The results indicated the feasibility of using the micro-drilling resistance method to measure the wood density of standing trees. Moreover, the relationship between wood density and drill resistance did not follow a linear pattern, and moisture content slightly influenced the drill needle resistance. Furthermore, the establishment of a mathematical model for each tree species was deemed essential. This study provides valuable guidance for measuring the wood density of standing trees through the micro-drilling resistance method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of heavy metal pollution in Wanshan mercury mining area is outstanding. In the wetland ecosystems, the amphibian Fejervarya multistriata can be used as indicator organisms for monitoring pollutants such as environmental heavy metals. To understand the characteristics of heavy metal bioaccumulation in Fejervarya multistriata under multi-heavy metals pollution and the effects of environmental heavy metals on its health, Fejervarya multistriata was captured from Xiaxi River, Aozhai River and Wawu River in Wanshan mercury mining area, and its liver, skin (back), femur, muscle (hind limb) and intestine (small intestine) were removed for analysis. The contents of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, As, Se and Hg in the sampled tissues were compared and analyzed, and the hepatosomatic index was used to evaluate the health status of Fejervarya multistriata. The results showed that the enrichment characteristics of heavy metal elements in the tissues were different, and the content of essential elements (Zn, Cu, Mn, Cr, Se) was obviously higher than that of non-essential elements (Hg, Pb, Cd, As). The liver and femur were the main sites of heavy metal enrichment in the tissues of the Fejervarya multistriata, Se, Hg and Cu was primarily accumulated in the liver, Pb, Mn and Ni in the femur, Cr and Cd in the intestine, As in the muscle, Zn in the intestine, skin and femur. The absorption and accumulation of heavy metal elements in the tissues of Fejervarya multistriata were mainly through skin uptake, but absorbed from foods was lower. The correlation analysis showed that the contents of eight heavy metals in the liver were negatively correlated with the hepatosomatic index in this study, which may imply the negative effect of heavy metal pollution on body condition. However, when Fejervarya multistriata were dissected, no obvious symptoms such as deformity, tissue lesion and injury were observed. This may be related to the higher Se content in tissues, which can alleviate the toxicity of heavy metals, and the evolution of species adaptations to long-term environmental heavy metal pollution in this area. This study results would provide scientific countermeasures and essential materials for managing environmental heavy metal pollution in mercury mining areas, and provide the scientific basis for wildlife protection and environmental quality assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COordinate Rotation DIgital Computer (CORDIC)-based systolic processor array structures are suitable for implementing discrete cosine transform (DCT) and inverse DCT algorithms. New formulations involving complex multiplications assist in the implementation process. Use of the pipelined CORDIC processor as a building block in two- and one-dimensional systolic type processor arrays enhances the computation speed of the algorithm. The array structure and algorithm do not require any modifications hence making the parallel structure scalable to the size of the problem.