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Cheng-Jie Mao,1,* Hao Peng,2,* Sheng Zhuang,1,* Ying-Chun Zhang,3 Wei-Ye Xie,1 Jia-Hui Yan,1 Hui-Hui Liu,1 Jing Chen,1 Jun-Yi Liu,4 Jianan Zhang,5 Hai Jiang,5 Yonghong Zhang,2 Mingzhi Zhang,2 Chun-Feng Liu1,6 1Department of Neurology and Clinical Research Center of Neurological Disease, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Chronic Disease, Taicang Center of Disease Prevention and Control, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China; 6Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Chun-Feng Liu, Department of Neurology and Clinical Research Center of Neurological Disease, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, 1055 Sanxiang Road, Suzhou, 215004, People’s Republic of China, Email liuchunfeng@suda.edu.cn Mingzhi Zhang, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Medical College of Soochow University, 199 Renai Road, Industrial Park, Suzhou, 215123, People’s Republic of China, Email zhangmingzhi@suda.edu.cnBackground: Sleep is critical in health problems including Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study examined the association between sleep characteristics and the likelihood of prodromal PD.Methods: At baseline examination of the Heart and Brain Investigation in Taicang (HABIT) study, potential PD biomarkers were obtained for 8777 participants aged over 50 years, and the probability of prodromal PD was assessed based on the Chinese expert consensus and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) criteria. General and component sleep characteristics were evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Median regression was applied to examine the association between sleep and the probability of prodromal PD, adjusting for age, sex, education level, physical activity, obesity, fast plasma glucose, lipids, and hypertension.Results: Based on China criteria, a higher level of PSQI score was significantly associated with a higher probability of prodromal PD (β = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01– 0.03) and a higher risk of having an increased probability of prodromal PD (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02– 1.05). Compared to participants with good quality sleep, those with poor quality sleep had a 0.07% increased probability of prodromal PD (95% CI: 0.01– 0.13) and a 19% increased risk of having a high prodromal PD probability (95% CI: 1.04– 1.20). Similar associations between sleep quality and the probability of prodromal PD were also observed using the MDS criteria. Subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, habitual sleep efficiency, daytime dysfunction, and use of sleep medications were also associated with the probability of prodromal PD.Conclusion: Poor sleep quality was associated with a high probability of prodromal PD. Sleep may be helpful for understanding and intervention of prodromal PD.Keywords: prodromal Parkinson’s disease, sleep, Parkinson’s disease

Jun-Jie Xia,1 Xing-Xiong Zou,2 Yu Qiu,1 Wen-Jun Li,1 Ling Huang,1 Wen-Ying Xie,1 Hui-Hong Xue,1 Ming Yang1 1Department of Respiratory, The Third Hospital of Mianyang/Sichuan Mental Health Center, Mianyang, Sichuan, 621000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Radiology, The Third Hospital of Mianyang/Sichuan Mental Health Center, Mianyang, Sichuan, 621000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ling Huang, Email 2118626061@qq.comBackground: COPD is an important public health problem worldwide, and there is a lack of epidemiological data on COPD in high-altitude areas in Sichuan province. Thus, we aimed to investigate the prevalence, risk factors and psychological status of COPD in Hongyuan County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, which is located at an average altitude of 3507 meters.Methods: The 40 years old or greater permanent residents of Hongyuan County were selected by random sampling method, and the lung function test and questionnaires were conducted to determine the disease situation of COPD. The prevalence of COPD was compared among different factors of investigation, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used for different factors to determine the independent influencing factors of COPD disease.Results: A total of 456 permanent residents aged 40 years or older in Hongyuan County, 436 qualified for quality control, among which 53 cases confirmed COPD, the total prevalence was 12.16%, among which the prevalence was 14.55% for men and it was 8.07% for women. There were significant differences in different gender, ethnicity, age, smoking status, smoking years, educational level, heating style, history of tuberculosis, and prevalence of BMI (P < 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥ 60 years (OR = 2.810, 95% CI: 1.0457.557), Han Nationality (OR: 3.238, 95% CI: 1.290– 8.127), the heating method including biofuels (OR: 18.119, 95% CI: 4.140– 79.303) and coals (OR: 6.973, 95% CI: 1.856– 26.200), medical history of pulmonary tuberculosis (OR: 2.670, 95% CI: 1.278– 5.578), the education level including junior high school (OR: 3.336, 95% CI: 1.2259.075), high school and above (OR: 5.910, 95% CI: 1.796– 19.450), and smoking (OR: 10.774, 95% CI: 3.622– 32.051) were independent risk factors for COPD disease. The prevalence of anxiety was 16.98%, and the prevalence of depression was 13.2%.Conclusion: The prevalence of COPD in Hongyuan County was higher than the national level; age, ethnic group, education, smoking, heating method, and history of tuberculosis are the independent influencing factors of COPD in Hongyuan County. The prevalence of anxiety and depression is low.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, prevalence, risk factors, psychological status

Xiao-Li Yang,1,&ast; Wen-Yao Xie,2,&ast; Yi-Min Cai,3 Hong-Ying Tang,1 Mei-Yi Tao,3 Zhou-Min Shen,3 Hong-Jiao Chen4 1Department of Liver Surgery, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, 410005, People’s Republic of China; 2Interventional Operating Room, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, 410005, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Nursing, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, 410005, People’s Republic of China; 4Medical College of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410013, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this studyCorrespondence: Yi-Min Cai, Nursing department, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), No. 61, Jiefang West Road, Changsha, 410005, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13787129085, Fax +0731-83928047, Email cyimin2022@163.comPurpose: To understand existing negative emotions in patients with coronary heart disease after percutaneous coronary stent implantation (PCI) and analyse its influencing factors.Methods: Patients with coronary heart disease after PCI in three tertiary hospitals in Changsha City from April to September 2018 were selected as the research subjects. The self-designed general information questionnaire assessed irritability, depression and anxiety (IDA) on a self-rating scale. It was used to examine patients’ existing negative emotions with coronary heart disease after PCI and analyse the influencing factors.Results: 203 questionnaires were distributed, and 202 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 99.5%. The IDA score of patients with coronary heart disease after PCI was 17.01± 7.60 points, the incidence of negative emotions was 63.8%, and the incidences of depression, anxiety and irritability were 39.6%, 8.4% and 15.8%, respectively. Negative emotion was taken as the dependent variable and a patient’s general data, such as lifestyle and disease, as the independent variables. A univariate analysis was conducted to obtain gender, age, educational level, marital status, work status, per capita monthly household income, sleep status, etc. Seven factors were identified as the influencing factors of negative emotions in patients with coronary heart disease after PCI, and the difference was statistically significant (P< 0.05).Conclusion: Most patients with coronary heart disease after PCI tend to exhibit negative emotions such as anxiety and depression. Medical staff should attach great importance to evaluating any negative feelings in this group and take timely targeted intervention measures to prevent and mitigate the occurrence and development of these adverse emotions in patients with coronary heart disease after PCI.Keywords: coronary heart disease, postoperative PCI, negative emotions, influencing factors

Ji-Li Zhao*, Wei Liu*, Wan-Ying Xie, Xu-Dong Cao, Li Yuan Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Medical School of Shihezi University, Shihezi, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is one of the most common chronic infectious amphixenotic diseases worldwide. Prevention and control of TB are greatly difficult, due to the increase in drug-resistant TB, particularly multidrug-resistant TB. We speculated that there were some differences between drug-sensitive and drug-resistant MTB strains and that mazEF3,6,9 toxin–antitoxin systems (TASs) were involved in MTB viability. This study aimed to investigate differences in viability, biofilm formation, and MazEF expression between drug-sensitive and drug-resistant MTB strains circulating in Xinjiang, China, and whether mazEF3,6,9 TASs contribute to MTB viability under stress conditions. Materials and methods: Growth profiles and biofilm-formation abilities of drug-sensitive, drug-resistant MTB strains and the control strain H37Rv were monitored. Using molecular biology experiments, the mRNA expression of the mazF3, 6, and 9 toxin genes, the mazE3, 6, and 9 antitoxin genes, and expression of the MazF9 protein were detected in the different MTB strains, H37RvΔmazEF3,6,9 mutants from the H37Rv parent strain were generated, and mutant viability was tested. Results: Ex vivo culture analyses demonstrated that drug-resistant MTB strains exhibit higher survival rates than drug-sensitive strains and the control strain H37Rv. However, there was no statistical difference in biofilm-formation ability in the drug-sensitive, drug-resistant, and H37Rv strains. mazE3,6 mRNA-expression levels were relatively reduced in the drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains compared to H37Rv. Conversely, mazE3,9 expression was increased in drug-sensitive strains compared to drug-resistant strains. Furthermore, compared with the H37Rv strain, mazF3,6 expression was increased in drug-resistant strains, mazF9 expression was increased in drug-sensitive strains, and mazF9 exhibited reduced expression in drug-resistant strains compared with drug-sensitive strains. Protein expression of mazF9 was increased in drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains compared to H37Rv, while drug-resistant strains exhibited reduced mazF9 expression compared to drug-sensitive strains. Compared to H37Rv, H37RvΔmazEF3,6,9-deletion mutants grew more slowly under both stress conditions, and their ability to survive in host macrophages was also weaker. Furthermore, the host macrophage-apoptosis rate was higher after infection with any of the H37RvΔmazEF3,6,9 mutants than with the H37Rv strain. Conclusion: The increased viability of MTB drug-resistant strains compared with drug-sensitive strains is likely to be related to differential MazEF mRNA and protein expression. mazEF3,6,9 TASs contribute to MTB viability under stress conditions. Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, toxin–antitoxin system, viability, biofilm, apoptosis, drug resistance

Purpose: To evaluate the association between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, distance from ophthalmology clinics, and diagnosis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR)., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Participants: Adult patients (≥18 years) with diabetes mellitus at Johns Hopkins Hospital and University of Wisconsin-Madison., Methods: Patient addresses were geocoded and the block group was linked to the 2021 national Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Area Deprivation Index was divided into quartiles, with higher quartiles indicating greater socioeconomic disadvantage. The distance between patient's residence and ophthalmology clinics was calculated. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between ADI quartile, distance from clinic, and PDR, adjusted for demographics and insurance status. The interaction between ADI and distance was tested., Main Outcome Measures: Diagnosis of PDR., Results: A total of 73 618 patients were included. A significant interaction was observed between ADI quartile and distance from ophthalmology clinics (P < 0.001). Among patients residing within 8 miles of clinics, those in higher ADI quartiles had increased odds of PDR compared with those in ADI Q1 (Q2: odds ratio [OR], 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-1.65; Q3: OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.46-2.19; Q4: OR, 2.60; 95% CI, 2.09-3.25; P < 0.001 for trend). Conversely, for patients living more than 8 miles from clinics, the odds of PDR were similar across ADI quartiles (Q1: OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73-0.98; Q2: OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.87-1.12; Q3: OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.90-1.30). However, patients in all ADI quartiles more than 8 miles had greater odds of PDR compared with those in the same ADI quartile within 8 miles (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 2.61-3.80; OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.71-2.27; OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.51-2.12; and OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.07-1.61 in ADI Q1-Q4, respectively)., Conclusions: Patients living in neighborhoods with greater socioeconomic disadvantage and farther from ophthalmology clinics have greater odds of PDR. These findings suggest the potential utility of targeted interventions in socioeconomically deprived and distant areas to reduce PDR-related blindness., Financial Disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article., (Copyright © 2024 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (DYS) adversely affects the quality of life of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between DYS and sleep and electroencephalography (EEG). Our study aimed to establish the objective physiological indicators assessed by polysomnography (PSG) that are associated with DYS in PD patients., Methods: We enrolled 122 patients with PD, divided into two groups: PD with DYS (n = 27) and PD without DYS group (non-DYS, n = 95). The demographics and clinical characteristics and sleep assessment in the two groups were collected. More importantly, overnight six-channel PSG parameters were compared in the two groups. We also compared different bands and brain regions of average power spectral density within each group., Results: Compared with the non-DYS group, the DYS group tended to have a significantly higher percentage of nonrapid eye movement sleep (NREM). Gender, levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD), rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (min), and the NREM percentage were positively correlated with the occurrence of DYS. After adjusting for gender, disease duration, LEDD, taking amantadine or not, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), NREM%, N3%, and REM (min), the percentage of NREM sleep (p = 0.035), female (p = 0.002), and LEDD (p = 0.005), and REM sleep time (min) (p = 0.012) were still associated with DYS. There was no significant difference in whole-night different bands of average power spectral density between two groups. There was no significant difference in normalized average power spectral density of slow wave activity (SWA) (0.5-2 Hz, 0.5-4 Hz, and 2-4 Hz) of early and late NREM sleep in the DYS group. Dynamic normalized average power spectral density of SWA of low-frequency (0.5-2 Hz) reduction in the frontal region (p = 0.013) was associated with DYS in logistic regression after adjusting for confounding factors., Conclusion: PD patients with DYS have substantial sleep structure variations. Higher NREM percentage and less REM percentage were observed in PD patients with DYS. Dynamic normalized average power spectral density of low-frequency (0.5-2 Hz) SWA reduction in the frontal area could be a new electrophysiological marker of DYS in PD., (© 2024 The Author(s). CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Numerous studies have established a strong association between Malassezia and various skin disorders, including atopic dermatitis. Finding appropriate methods or medications to alleviate Malassezia-induced skin damage is of notable public interest. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of the exopolysaccharide EPS1, produced by Paenibacillus polymyxa, on Malassezia restricta-induced skin damage. In vitro assays indicated that EPS1 reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes in TNF-α-induced HaCaT cells. In a murine model, EPS1 was found to mitigate clinical symptoms, reduce epidermal thickness and mast cell infiltration, improve skin barrier function, decrease pro-inflammatory cytokine levels associated with type 17 inflammation, enhance Tregs in the spleen, upregulate the transcription of Treg-related genes in skin lesions, and modulate the skin microbiota. This study is the first to report the alleviating effect of Paenibacillus exopolysaccharide on Malassezia-induced skin inflammation and its impact on the skin microbiota. These findings support the potential of Paenibacillus exopolysaccharides as consumer products and therapeutic agents for managing Malassezia-induced skin damage by improving skin barrier function, modulating immune responses, and influencing skin microbiota., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they do not possess any financial or commercial conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Sleep disturbances, including rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), excessive daytime sleepiness, and insomnia, are common non-motor manifestations of Parkinson's disease (PD). Little is known about the underlying mechanisms, partly due to the inability of current rodent models to adequately mimic the human PD sleep phenotype. Clinically, increasing studies have reported that variants of the glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA) increase the risk of PD. Here, we developed a mouse model characterized by sleep-wakefulness by injecting α-synuclein preformed fibronectin (PFF) into the sublaterodorsal tegmental nucleus (SLD) of GBA L444P mutant mice and investigated the role of the GBA L444P variant in the transition from rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder to PD. Initially, we analyzed spectral correlates of REM and NREM sleep in GBA L444P mutant mice. Importantly, EEG power spectral analysis revealed that GBA L444P mutation mice exhibited reduced delta power during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and increased theta power (8.2-10 Hz) in active rapid eye movement (REM) sleep phases. Our study revealed that GBA L444P-mutant mice, after receiving PFF injections, exhibited increased sleep fragmentation, significant motor and cognitive dysfunctions, and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Furthermore, the over-expression of GBA-AAV partially improved these sleep disturbances and motor and cognitive impairments. In conclusion, we present the initial evidence that the GBA L444P mutant mouse serves as an essential tool in understanding the complex sleep disturbances associated with PD. This model further provides insights into potential therapeutic approaches, particularly concerning α-synuclein accumulation and its subsequent pathological consequences., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Compost-based organic fertilizers often contain high levels of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Previous studies focused on quantification of total ARGs and MGEs. For a more accurate risk assessment of the dissemination risk of antibiotic resistance, it is necessary to quantify the intracellular and extracellular distribution of ARGs and MGEs. In the present study, extracellular ARGs and MGEs (eARGs and eMGEs) and intracellular ARGs and MGEs (iARGs and iMGEs) were separately analyzed in 51 commercial composts derived from different raw materials by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and metagenomic sequencing. Results showed that eARGs and eMGEs accounted for 11-56% and 4-45% of the total absolute abundance of ARGs and MGEs, respectively. Comparable diversity, host composition and association with MGEs were observed between eARGs and iARGs. Contents of high-risk ARGs were similar between eARGs and iARGs, with high-risk ARGs in the two forms accounting for 6.7% and 8.2% of the total abundances, respectively. Twenty-four percent of the overall ARGs were present in plasmids, while 56.7% of potentially mobile ARGs were found to be associated with plasmids. Variation partitioning analysis, null model and neutral community model indicated that the compositions of both eARGs and iARGs were largely driven by deterministic mechanisms. These results provide important insights into the cellular distribution of ARGs in manure composts that should be paid with specific attention in risk assessment and management., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is difficult to cure, and formulating a dietary plan is an effective means to prevent and treat this disease. Wheat peptide contains a variety of bioactive peptides with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions. The results of this study showed that preventive supplementation with wheat peptide (WP) can significantly alleviate the symptoms of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. WP can increase body weight, alleviate colon shortening, and reduce disease activity index (DAI) scores. In addition, WP improved intestinal microbial disorders in mice with colitis. Based on LC-MS, a total of 313 peptides were identified in WP, 4 of which were predicted to be bioactive peptides. The regulatory effects of WP and four bioactive peptides on the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway were verified in Caco-2 cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that WP alleviates DSS-induced colitis by helping maintain gut barrier integrity and targeting the Keap1-Nrf2 axis; these results provided a rationale for adding WP to dietary strategies to prevent IBD.

Milk fat is an important indicator for evaluating the quality of cow's milk. In this study, we used bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) to investigate the role and molecular mechanism of KLF4 in the regulation of milk fat synthesis. The results showed that KLF4 was more highly expressed in mammary tissues of high-fat cows compared with low-fat cows. KLF4 positively regulated the expression of genes related to milk fat synthesis in BMECs, increasing intracellular triglycerides content, and KLF4 promoted milk fat synthesis by activating the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway. Furthermore, the results of animal experiments also confirmed that knockdown of KLF4 inhibited milk fat synthesis. In addition, yeast one-hybrid assays and dual-luciferase reporter gene assays confirmed that KLF4 directly targets and binds to the fatty acid synthase (FASN) promoter region to promote FASN transcription. These results demonstrate that KLF4 is a key transcription factor for milk fat synthesis in BMECs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The incidence of ulcerative colitis (UC) is increasing annually, and UC has a serious impact on patients' lives. Polysaccharides have gained attention as potential drug candidates for treating ulcerative colitis (UC) in recent years. Huaier ( Trametes robiniophila Murr) is a fungus that has been used clinically for more than 1000 years, and its bioactive polysaccharide components have been reported to possess immunomodulatory effects, antitumour potential, and renoprotective effects. In this study, we aimed to examine the protective effects and mechanisms of Huaier polysaccharide (HP) against UC. Based on the H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress model in HT-29 cells and the dextran sulphate sodium salt (DSS)-induced UC model, we demonstrated that Huaier polysaccharides significantly alleviated DSS-induced colitis (weight loss, elevated disease activity index (DAI) scores, and colonic shortening). In addition, HP inhibited oxidative stress and inflammation and alleviated DSS-induced intestinal barrier damage. It also significantly promoted the expression of the mucin Muc2. Furthermore, HP reduced the abundance of harmful bacteria Escherichia-Shigella and promoted the abundance of beneficial bacteria Muribaculaceae&#95;unclassified , Anaerotruncus , and Ruminococcaceae&#95;unclassified to regulate the intestinal flora disturbance caused by DSS. Nontargeted metabolomics revealed that HP intervention would modulate metabolism by promoting levels of 3-hydroxybutyric acid, phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). These results demonstrated that HP had the ability to mitigate DSS-induced UC by suppressing oxidative stress and inflammation, maintaining the intestinal barrier, and modulating the intestinal flora. These findings will expand our knowledge of how HP functions and offer a theoretical foundation for using HP as a potential prebiotic to prevent UC.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic intestinal ailment which cannot be completely cured. The occurrence of UC has been on the rise in recent years, which is highly detrimental to patients. The effectiveness of conventional drug treatment is limited. The long-term usage of these agents can lead to substantial adverse effects. Therefore, the development of a safe and efficient dietary supplement is important for the prevention of UC. Echinacea purpurea polysaccharide (EPP) is one of the main bioactive substances in Echinacea purpurea . EPP has many favorable effects, such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor effects. However, whether EPP can prevent or alleviate UC is still unclear. This study aims to analyze the effect and mechanism of EPP on UC in mice using a 3% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC model. The results showed that dietary supplementation with 200 mg/kg EPP significantly alleviated the shortening of colon length, weight loss, and histopathological damage in DSS-induced colitis mice. Mechanistically, EPP significantly inhibits the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway and preserves the intestinal mechanical barrier integrity by enhancing the expression of claudin-1, ZO-1, and occludin and reducing the loss of goblet cells. Additionally, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that EPP intervention reduced the abundance of Bacteroides, Escherichia-Shigella, and Klebsiella; the abundance of Lactobacillus increased. The results of nontargeted metabonomics showed that EPP reshaped metabolism. In this study, we clarified the effect of EPP on UC, revealed the potential function of EPP, and supported the use of polysaccharide dietary supplements for UC prevention.

Background: Growing evidence supports the potential role of sleep in the motor progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). Slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep without atonia (RWA) are important sleep parameters. The association between SWS and RWA with PD motor progression and their predictive value have not yet been elucidated., Methods: We retro-prospectively analyzed clinical and polysomnographic data of 136 patients with PD. The motor symptoms were assessed using Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III (UPDRS III) at baseline and follow-up to determine its progression. Partial correlation analysis was used to explore the cross-sectional associations between slow-wave energy (SWE), RWA and clinical symptoms. Longitudinal analyses were performed using Cox regression and linear mixed-effects models., Results: Among 136 PD participants, cross-sectional partial correlation analysis showed SWE decreased with the prolongation of the disease course (P = 0.046), RWA density was positively correlated with Hoehn & Yahr (H-Y) stage (tonic RWA, P < 0.001; phasic RWA, P = 0.002). Cox regression analysis confirmed that low SWE (HR = 1.739, 95% CI = 1.038-2.914; P = 0.036; FDR-P = 0.036) and high tonic RWA (HR = 0.575, 95% CI = 0.343-0.963; P = 0.032; FDR-P = 0.036) were predictors of motor symptom progression. Furthermore, we found that lower SWE predicted faster rate of axial motor progression (P < 0.001; FDR-P < 0.001) while higher tonic RWA density was associated with faster rate of rigidity progression (P = 0.006; FDR-P = 0.024) using linear mixed-effects models., Conclusions: These findings suggest that SWS and RWA might represent markers of different motor subtypes progression in PD., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Electro-catalytic technology is a promising approach for wastewater treatment, owing to its easy operation, minimal generation of secondary pollution, small foot-print and rapid start-up. In this work, the chlorine evolution potential of the Pd-Sn modified ruthenium(Ru)-iridium(Ir) electrode was investigated for the electro-catalytic treatment of high chlorine ammonia-nitrogen wastewater. The effect of reaction conditions on the removal of ammonia-nitrogen, kinetics and apparent activation energy of ammonia-nitrogen removal were studied. The possible denitrification process of high chlorine ammonia-nitrogen wastewater was discussed. The results indicated that the chlorine evolution potential of the Pd-Sn modified Ru-Ir electrode was 1.0956 V(vs. SCE). The electro-catalytic treatment of high chlorine ammonia-nitrogen conformed to zero-order kinetic law, and the apparent activation energy of removal process was 14.089 kJ/mol. With a current was 0.5 A, the removal efficiency of ammonia-nitrogen could achieve 100% at a reaction time of 40 min. Indirect oxidation played an essential role in the electro-catalytic ammonia-nitrogen removal using the Pd-Sn modified Ru-Ir electrode. This paper demonstrated that the electro-catalytic technology was a promising approach for efficiently treating the high chlorine ammonia-nitrogen wastewater.

The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is progressively rising each year, emphasizing the significance of implementing rational dietary interventions for disease prevention. Oats, being a staple agricultural product, are abundant in protein content. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of oat peptides (OPs) in a mouse model of acute colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) and a Caco-2 cell model. The findings demonstrated that intervention with OPs effectively mitigated the symptoms associated with DSS-induced colitis. The physicochemical characterization analysis demonstrated that the molecular weight of the OPs was predominantly below 5 kDa, with a predominant composition of 266 peptides. This study provides further evidence of the regulatory impact of OPs on the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling axis and elucidates the potential role of WGVGVRAERDA as the primary bioactive peptide responsible for the functional effects of OPs. Ultimately, the results of this investigation demonstrate that OPs effectively mitigate DSS-induced colitis by preserving the integrity of the intestinal barrier and modulating the Keap1-Nrf2 axis. Consequently, these findings establish a theoretical foundation for the utilization of OPs as dietary supplements to prevent the onset of IBD.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic noninfectious intestinal disease that severely affects patients' quality of life. Agaricus blazei Murrill polysaccharide (ABP) is an effective active ingredient extracted from Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM). It has good efficacy in inhibiting tumor cell growth, lowering blood pressure, and improving atherosclerosis. However, its effect on colitis is unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze the protective effects and potential mechanisms of ABP against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute colitis in mice. The results showed that dietary supplementation with ABP significantly alleviated DSS-induced colitis symptoms, inflammatory responses, and oxidative stress. Meanwhile, ABP intervention was able to maintain the integrity of the intestinal mechanical barrier by promoting the expression of ZO-1 and Occludin tight junction proteins and facilitating mucus secretion. Moreover, 16S rRNA sequencing results suggested that ABP intervention was able to alleviate DSS-induced gut microbiota disruption, and nontargeted metabolomics results indicated that ABP was able to remodel metabolism. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that dietary supplementation with ABP alleviated DSS-induced acute colitis by maintaining intestinal barrier integrity and remodeling metabolism. These results improve our understanding of ABP function and provide a theoretical basis for the use of dietary supplementation with ABP for the prevention of ulcerative colitis.

Metabolic cross-feeding is a pervasive microbial interaction type that affects community stability and functioning and directs carbon and energy flows. The mechanisms that underlie these interactions and their association with metal/metalloid biogeochemistry, however, remain poorly understood. Here, we identified two soil bacteria, Bacillus sp. BP-3 and Delftia sp. DT-2, that engage in a two-tiered mutualism. Strain BP-3 has low utilization ability of pyruvic acid while strain DT-2 lacks hexokinase, lacks a phosphotransferase system, and is defective in glucose utilization. When strain BP-3 is grown in isolation with glucose, it releases pyruvic acid to the environment resulting in acidification and eventual self-killing. However, when strain BP-3 is grown together with strain DT-2, strain DT-2 utilizes the released pyruvic acid to meet its energy requirements, consequently rescuing strain BP-3 from pyruvic acid-induced growth inhibition. The two bacteria further enhance their collective competitiveness against other microbes by using arsenic as a weapon. Strain DT-2 reduces relatively non-toxic methylarsenate [MAs(V)] to highly toxic methylarsenite [MAs(III)], which kills or suppresses competitors, while strain BP-3 detoxifies MAs(III) by methylation to non-toxic dimethylarsenate [DMAs(V)]. These two arsenic transformations are enhanced when strains DT-2 and BP-3 are grown together. The two strains, along with their close relatives, widely co-occur in soils and their abundances increase with the soil arsenic concentration. Our results reveal that these bacterial types employ a two-tiered mutualism to ensure their collective metabolic activity and maintain their ecological competitive against other soil microbes. These findings shed light on the intricateness of bacterial interactions and their roles in ecosystem functioning., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Whole pancreas transplantation provides durable glycemic control and can improve survival rate; however, it can carry an increased risk of surgical complications. One devastating complication is a duodenal leak at the site of enteroenteric anastomosis. The gastroduodenal artery (GDA) supplies blood to the donor duodenum and pancreas but is commonly ligated during procurement. Since we have not had expressive changes in pancreatic back table surgical techniques in the recent decades, we hypothesized whether back table GDA reconstruction, improving perfusion of the donor duodenum and head of the pancreas, could lead to fewer surgical complications in simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplants., Material and Methods: Between 2017 and 2021, we evaluated demographic information, postoperative complications, intraoperative donor duodenum, recipient bowel O 2 tissue saturation, and patient morbidity through the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI®)., Results: A total of 26 patients were included: 13 underwent GDA reconstruction (GDA-R), and 13 had GDA ligation (GDA-L). There were no pancreatic leaks in the GR group compared to 38% (5/13) in the GDA-L group (p = 0.03913). Intraoperative tissue oxygen saturation was higher in the GDA-R group than in the GDA-L (95.18 vs.76.88%, p < 0,001). We observed an increase in transfusion rate in GDA-R (p < 0.05), which did not result in a higher rate of exploration (p = 0.38). CCI® patient morbidity was also significantly lower in the GDA-R group (s < 0.05)., Conclusions: This study identified improved intraoperative duodenal tissue oxygen saturation in the GDA-R group with an associated reduction in pancreatic leaks and CCI® morbidity risk. A larger prospective multicenter study comparing the two methods is warranted., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Mastitis affects the milk quality and yield and is the most expensive disease in dairy cows. Elucidation of the pathogenesis of mastitis is of great importance for disease control. As a medium of intercellular communication, exosomes play key roles in various inflammatory diseases by regulating macrophage polarization. However, the molecular factors in exosomes that mediate the intercellular communication between mammary epithelial cells and macrophages during mastitis remain to be further explored. In this study, we isolated and identified mammary epithelial cell-derived exosomes from a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/lipoteichoic acid (LTA)-induced mastitis cell model, and we demonstrated that exosomes from LPS/LTA-stimulated mammary epithelial cells promote M1-type macrophage polarization in vivo and in vitro. Based on the results of high-throughput sequencing, we constructed a differential miRNA (microRNA) expression profile of exosomes and demonstrated that miR-221-3p was highly expressed. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro experiments, combined with coculture experiments and fluorescence tracing, showed that high miR-221-3p expression promoted M1-type macrophage polarization, demonstrating the transcellular role of miR-221-3p. Mechanistically, dual luciferase reporter gene assays and rescue assays showed that miR-221-3p regulated macrophage polarization by targeting Igf 2 bp 2. The results of this study will deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of mastitis, and the molecular regulatory axis that was established in this study is expected to be a target for mastitis treatment.

Exploring highly active oxygen reduction electrocatalysts with low precious metals content is imperative but remains a considerable challenge. Herein, a series of heterobimetallic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) electrocatalysts based on metal complexes are presented. These electrocatalysts feature diverse transition metals (M=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) 5,15-bromophenyl-10, 20-methoxyphenyl porphyrin (MBMP) and tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium (0) (Pd[P(Ph 3 ) 4 ]) anchored non-covalently on its surface. The resulting NiBMP-based MWCNTs with Pd[P(Ph 3 ) 4 ] (PdNiN4/MWCNTs) display outstanding electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity (onset potential, 0.941 V; half wave potential, 0.830 V) and robust long-term durability in alkaline electrolyte. While in neutral condition, the MnBMP-based MWCNTs with Pd[P(Ph 3 ) 4 ] (PdMnN4/MWCNTs) are the most active heterobimetallic ORR catalyst and produce ultra-low concentration hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 yield, 1.2%-1.3%). Synergistically tuning the ORR electrocatalytic activity and electron transfer pathway is achieved by the formation of NiBMP/MnBMP-Pd[P(Ph 3 ) 4 ] active sites. This work indicates such metalloporphyrin-Pd[P(Ph 3 ) 4 ] active sites on MWCNTs have significantly positive influence on electrocatalytic ORR systems and provides facile and mild strategy for designing highly efficient ORR electrocatalysts with ultra-low loading precious metal., (© 2023 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Rice is a major dietary source of inorganic arsenic (iAs), a highly toxic arsenical that accumulates in rice and poses health risks to rice-based populations. However, the availability of detection methods for iAs in rice grains is limited. In this study, we developed a novel approach utilizing a natural bacterial biosensor, Escherichia coli AW3110 (pBB- ArarsR - mCherry ), in conjunction with amylase hydrolysis for efficient extraction, enabling high-throughput and quantitative detection of iAs in rice grains. The biosensor exhibits high specificity for arsenic and distinguishes between arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)] by modulating the concentration of PO 4 3- in the detection system. We determined the iAs concentrations in 19 rice grain samples with varying total As concentrations and compared our method with the standard technique of microwave digestion coupled with HPLC-ICP-MS. Both methods exhibited comparable results, without no significant bias in the concentrations of As(III) and As(V). The whole-cell biosensor demonstrated excellent reproducibility and a high signal-to-noise ratio, achieving a limit of detection of 16 μg kg -1 [As(III)] and 29 μg kg -1 [As(V)]. These values are considerably lower than the maximum allowable level (100 μg kg -1 ) for infant rice supplements established by the European Union. Our straightforward sensing strategy presents a promising tool for detecting iAs in other food samples.

Microbially mediated arsenic redox transformations are key for arsenic speciation and mobility in rice paddies. Whereas anaerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis coupled to arsenite (As(III)) oxidation has been widely examined in arsenic-replete ecosystems, it remains unknown whether this light-dependent process exists in paddy soils. Here, we isolated a phototrophic purple bacteria, Rhodobacter strain CZR27, from an arsenic-contaminated paddy soil and demonstrated its capacity to oxidize As(III) to arsenate (As(V)) using malate as a carbon source photosynthetically. Genome sequencing revealed an As(III)-oxidizing gene cluster (aioXSRBA) encoding an As(III) oxidase. Functional analyses showed that As(III) oxidation under anoxic phototrophic conditions correlated with transcription of the large subunit of the As(III) oxidase aioA gene. Furthermore, the non-As(III) oxidizer Rhodobacter capsulatus SB1003 heterologously expressing aioBA from strain CZR27 was able to oxidize As(III), indicating that aioBA was responsible for the observed As(III) oxidation in strain CZR27. Our study provides evidence for the presence of anaerobic photosynthesis-coupled As(III) oxidation in paddy soils, highlighting the importance of light-dependent, microbe-mediated arsenic redox changes in paddy arsenic biogeochemistry., (© 2023 Applied Microbiology International and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Cadmium (Cd) contamination in food has raised broad concerns in food safety and human health. The toxicity of Cd to animals/humans have been widely reported, yet little is known about the health risk of dietary Cd intake at the epigenetic level. Here, we investigated the effect of a household Cd-contaminated rice (Cd-rice) on genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) changes in the model mouse. Feeding Cd-rice increased kidney Cd and urinary Cd concentrations compared with the Control rice (low-Cd rice), whereas supplementation of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid iron sodium salt (NaFeEDTA) in the diet significantly increased urinary Cd and consequently decreased kidney Cd concentrations. Genome-wide DNAm sequencing revealed that dietary Cd-rice exposure caused the differentially methylated sites (DMSs), which were mainly located in the promoter (32.5%), downstream (32.5%), and intron (26.1%) regions of genes. Notably, Cd-rice exposure induced hypermethylation at the promoter sites of genes Caspase-8 and interleukin-1β (Il-1β), and consequently, their expressions were down-regulated. The two genes are critical in apoptosis and inflammation, respectively. In contrast, Cd-rice induced hypomethylation of the gene midline 1 (Mid1), which is vital to neurodevelopment. Furthermore, 'pathways in cancer' was significantly enriched as the leading canonical pathway. Supplementation of NaFeEDTA partly alleviated the toxic symptoms and DNAm alternations induced by Cd-rice exposure. These results highlight the broad effects of elevated dietary Cd intake on the level of DNAm, providing epigenetic evidence on the specific endpoints of health risks induced by Cd-rice exposure., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Exploring the biogeochemical cycle characteristics of soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in farmland in the dryland of the loess plateau can provide scientific basis and technical support for efficient crop production and sustainable land use. Here, based on a long-term (24 year) straw return field experiment in Shouyang, Shanxi province, the effects of different straw return regimes, i.e., straw mulching (SM), direct straw return (DS), animal-digested straw return (AS), and non-straw return (CK), on the stoichiometric ratio of soil elements and extracellular enzyme activities were studied. The vector angle and length were calculated to indicate the resource constraints faced by microorganisms. The vector angle was greater than 45° and less than 45°, indicating that microorganisms were limited by phosphorus and nitrogen, respectively. The greater the deviation from 45°, the greater the degree of limitation, and the longer the vector length, the more severely limited by carbon. The results showed that ① the soil C/N and C/P of long-term straw returning ranged from 9.81 to 14.28 and from 14.58 to 21.92, with the mean values of 12.36 and 17.51, respectively, which were 6.0% and 4.2% lower than that at the initial stage of the experiment. The soil N/P was distributed between 1.27 and 1.57, with an average of 1.42, which was 2.2% higher than that in the initial stage. The soil C/N and C/P ratios showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, the soil N/P ratio basically showed a flat trend, and there was no significant difference in soil element metering ratios between different straw returning treatments. ② Compared with the 24-year long-term non-straw return treatment, the activities of β -1,4-glucosidase (BG) and β -1,4- N -acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) in the soil of the long-term straw mulching treatment increased by 134.4% and 107.5% ( P <0.05), the activities of BG and alkaline phosphatase (AP) in the soil of the long-term straw mulching treatment decreased by 59.3% and 59.5% ( P <0.05), respectively, and the activities of NAG in the soil of the long-term straw mulching treatment increased by 102.8% ( P <0.05). Under the long-term straw returning treatment, soil microorganisms were faced with carbon and phosphorus limitation as a whole. Long-term straw mulching aggravated microbial carbon limitation, and animal-digested straw return could alleviate the degree of carbon limitation. Compared with that in the 24-year long-term non-straw return treatment, soil EEA C/N could be significantly reduced by the animal-digested straw return treatment, and soil EEA C/P could be increased by the direct straw return treatment. The three straw returning methods had no significant indigenous effect on soil EEA N/P . The overall vector angle was greater than 45°, and the vector length increased by 3.8%-20.1% compared with that in the initial stage. ③ Correlation analysis showed that C and N inputs were significantly negatively correlated with BG activity; available nitrogen was significantly correlated with NAG activity, AP activity, and EEA C/N ; C/P was significantly positively correlated with EEA C/N ; there were significant correlations between N/P and NAG activity, AP activity, EEA C/N, and EEA C/P ; and there was no significant correlation between EEA N/P and any environmental factors. In conclusion, the availability of soil nitrogen and phosphorus elements and N/P ratio had significant effects on soil extracellular enzyme activity and stoichiometric characteristics under different long-term straw returning treatments. In the future, more attention should be paid to the improvement of organic carbon and the promotion of nitrogen and phosphorus availability in farmland soil in soil-efficient cultivation and agricultural production activities.

Sample extraction is a crucial step in forensic analysis, especially when dealing with trace and ultra-trace levels of target analytes present in various complex matrices (e. g., soil, biological samples, and fire debris). Conventional sample preparation techniques include Soxhlet extraction and liquid-liquid extraction. However, these techniques are tedious, time-consuming, labor-intensive and require large amounts of solvents, which poses a threat to the environment and health of researchers. Moreover, sample loss and secondary pollution can easily occur during the preparation procedure. Conversely, the solid phase microextraction (SPME) technique either requires a small amount of solvent or no solvent at all. Its small and portable size, simple and fast operation, easy-to-realize automation, and other characteristics thus make it a widely used sample pretreatment technique. More attention was given to the preparation of SPME coatings by using various functional materials, as commercialized SPME devices used in early studies were expensive, fragile, and lacked selectivity. Examples of those functional materials include metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, carbon-based materials, molecularly imprinted polymers, ionic liquids, and conducting polymers, all widely used in environmental monitoring, food analysis, and drug detection. However, these SPME coating materials have relatively few applications in forensics. Given the high potential of SPME technology for the in situ and efficient extraction of samples from crime scenes, this study briefly introduces functional coating materials and summarizes the applications of SPME coating materials for the analysis of explosives, ignitable liquids, illicit drugs, poisons, paints, and human odors. Compared to commercial coatings, functional material-based SPME coatings exhibit higher selectivity, sensitivity, and stability. These advantages are mainly achieved through the following approaches: First, the selectivity can be improved by increasing the π-π , hydrogen bonds, and hydrophilic/hydrophobic interactions between the materials and analytes. Second, the sensitivity can be improved by using porous materials or by increasing their porosity. Third, thermal, chemical, and mechanical stability can be improved by using robust materials or fixing the chemical bonding between the coating and substrate. In addition, composite materials with multiple advantages are gradually replacing the single materials. In terms of the substrate, the silica support was gradually replaced by the metal support. This study also outlines the existing shortcomings in forensic science analysis of functional material-based SPME techniques. First, the application of functional material-based SPME techniques in forensic science remains limited. On one hand, the analytes are narrow in scope. As far as explosive analysis is concerned, functional material-based SPME coatings are mainly applied to nitrobenzene explosives, while other categories, such as nitroamine and peroxides, are rarely or never involved. Research and development of coatings is insufficient and the application of COFs in forensic science has not yet been reported. Second, functional material-based SPME coatings have not been commercialized as they don't yet have inter-laboratory validation tests or established official standard analytical methods. Therefore, some suggestions are proposed for the future development of forensic science analyses of functional material-based SPME coatings. First, research and development of functional material-based SPME coatings, especially fiber coatings with broad-spectrum applicability and high sensitivity, or outstanding selectivity for some compounds, is still an important direction for SPME future research. Second, a theoretical calculation of the binding energy between the analyte and coating was introduced to guide the design of functional coatings and improve the screening efficiency of new coatings. Third, we expand its application in forensic science by expanding the number of analytes. Fourth, we focused on the promotion of functional material-based SPME coatings in conventional laboratories and established performance evaluation protocols for the commercialization of functional material-based SPME coatings. This study is expected to serve as a reference for peers engaged in related research.

Saccharina japonica (Laminariales, Phaeophyta) is a brown alga and the major component of algae beds on the northwest coast of the Pacific Ocean. Rubisco, the key enzyme of CO 2 fixation in photosynthesis, is inhibited by nonproductive binding of its substrate RuBP and other sugar phosphates. The inhibited Rubisco in eukaryotic phytoplankton of the red plastid lineage was reactivated by CbbXs, the red-type Rubisco activases, through the process of ATP-hydrolysis-powered remodeling. As well documented, CbbXs had two types of subunits encoded by the plastid or nuclear genome respectively. In this study, both proteins of S. japonica (SjCbbX-n and SjCbbX-p) were localized in the chloroplast illustrated by immuno-electron microscopy technique. GST pull-down detection verified SjCbbX-n could interact with SjCbbX-p. Two-dimensional electrophoresis-based Western blot analysis illustrated that the endogenous SjCbbXs could form heterohexamer in the ratio of 1:1. Activase activity assays showed that although both the recombinant proteins of SjCbbXs were functional, SjCbbX-n illustrated the significantly higher activase activity than SjCbbX-p. Notably, when the two proteins were mixed, the highest specific efficiencies of Rubisco were obtained. These results implied SjCbbX-n may be essential for Rubisco activation. Molecular evolutionary analysis of cbbx genes revealed that cbbx-n originated from the duplication of cbbx-p and then evolved independently under the positive selection pressure. This is the first report about the functional relationship between the two types of CbbXs in macroalge with the red-type Rubisco and provides useful information for revealing the mechanism of high photosynthetic efficiency of this important kelp., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Disruptions of circadian rhythms and sleep cycles are common among neurodegenerative diseases and can occur at multiple levels. Accumulating evidence reveals a bidirectional relationship between disruptions of circadian rhythms and sleep cycles and neurodegenerative diseases. Circadian disruption and sleep disorders aggravate neurodegeneration and neurodegenerative diseases can in turn disrupt circadian rhythms and sleep. Importantly, circadian disruption and various sleep disorders can increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, harnessing the circadian biology findings from preclinical and translational research in neurodegenerative diseases is of importance for reducing risk of neurodegeneration and improving symptoms and quality of life of individuals with neurodegenerative disorders via approaches that normalize circadian in the context of precision medicine. In this review, we discuss the implications of circadian disruption and sleep disorders in neurodegenerative diseases by summarizing evidence from both human and animal studies, focusing on the bidirectional links of sleep and circadian rhythms with prevalent forms of neurodegeneration. These findings provide valuable insights into the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and suggest a promising role of circadian-based interventions., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The regulation of mammalian reproductive activity is tightly dependent on the HPG axis crosstalk, in which several reproductive hormones play important roles. Among them, the physiological functions of gonadotropins are gradually being uncovered. However, the mechanisms by which GnRH regulates FSH synthesis and secretion still need to be more extensively and deeply explored. With the gradual completion of the human genome project, proteomes have become extremely important in the fields of human disease and biological process research. To explore the changes of protein and protein phosphorylation modifications in the adenohypophysis after GnRH stimulation, proteomics and phosphoproteomics analyses of rat adenohypophysis after GnRH treatment were performed by using TMT markers, HPLC classification, LC/MS, and bioinformatics analysis in this study. A total of 6762 proteins and 15,379 phosphorylation sites contained quantitative information. Twenty-eight upregulated proteins and fifty-three downregulated proteins were obtained in the rat adenohypophysis after GnRH treatment. The 323 upregulated phosphorylation sites and 677 downregulated phosphorylation sites found in the phosphoproteomics implied that a large number of phosphorylation modifications were regulated by GnRH and were involved in FSH synthesis and secretion. These data constitute a protein-protein phosphorylation map in the regulatory mechanism of "GnRH-FSH," which provides a basis for future studies on the complex molecular mechanisms of FSH synthesis and secretion. The results will be helpful for understanding the role of GnRH in the development and reproduction regulated by the pituitary proteome in mammals.

Objective: To investigate the influence of group counselling on the career planning and career maturity of male nursing students., Method: Sixty male nursing students were randomly selected from a specific-level first-class hospital in Hunan Province from July to August 2020 by using the convenience sampling method and were subsequently divided into the control group and the experimental group using the random number table method. The control group received routine pre-job training, including aspects concerning the hospital profile, nurse etiquette, nursing core systems, professional ethics, nursing emergency treatment and career prospects and planning. In the experimental group, career planning group counselling was added after the regular pre-service training (once a week) with each session lasting 2 h for a total of six training sessions. At six weeks and three months after the intervention, the career status evaluation scale and the college students' career maturity scale were used to compare the career planning and career maturity status of the two groups of male nursing students., Results: After six weeks and three months of intervention, all the dimensions and total scores of both the career status evaluation scale and the career maturity scale in the experimental group were superior to those in the control group with statistically significant differences (all P < 0.05). The repeated measures of variance analysis indicated that the differences in the total score for career planning and the four dimensions in terms of intergroup effect, time effect and interaction effect between the two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The intergroup effect, time effect and interaction effect of the total score for vocational maturity, career goal, career confidence, career value, career freedom and career reference of the two groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05), while the time effect of the relative dependency dimension was also statistically significant (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Group counselling can significantly improve the career planning and career maturity status of male nursing students and has a certain long-term effect., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of Tangmaikang Granules in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy(DPN). PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, SinoMed, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP were retrieved for randomized controlled trial(RCT) of Tangmaikang Granules in the treatment of DPN. Cochrane handbook 5.3 was used to evaluate the quality of the inclu-ded studies, and RevMan 5.4.1 and Stata 15.1 were employed to analyze data and test heterogeneity. GRADEpro was used to assess the quality of each outcome index. Clinical effective rate was the major outcome index, while the improvement in numbness of hands and feet, pain of extremities, sluggishness or regression of sensation, sensory conduction velocity(SCV) and motor conduction velocity(MCV) of median nerve and peroneal nerve, fasting blood glucose(FBG), 2 h postprandial blood glucose(2hPBG), and glycated hemoglobin(HbA1c) and incidence of adverse reactions were considered as the minor outcome indexes. A total of 19 RCTs with 1 602 patients were eventually included. The Meta-analysis showed that the improvements in clinical effective rate(RR=1.45, 95%CI[1.32, 1.61], P&lt;0.000 01), pain of extremities(RR=1.70, 95%CI[1.27, 2.27], P=0.000 3), MCV of peroneal nerve(MD=4.08, 95%CI[3.29, 4.86], P&lt;0.000 01) and HbA1c(SMD=-1.23, 95%CI[-1.80,-0.66], P&lt;0.000 1) of Tangmaikang Granules alone or in combination in the experimental group were better than those in the control group. Compared with the conditions in the control group, numbness of hands and feet(RR=1.42, 95%CI[1.12, 1.80], P=0.003), sluggishness or regression of sensation(RR=1.41, 95%CI[1.05, 1.91], P=0.02), SCV of median nerve(MD=4.59, 95%CI[0.92, 8.27], P=0.01), SCV of peroneal nerve(MD=4.68, 95%CI[3.76, 5.60], P&lt;0.000 01) and MCV of median nerve(MD=5.58, 95%CI[4.05, 7.11], P&lt;0.000 01) of Tangmaikang Granules in combination in the experimental group were improved by subgroup analysis. The levels of FBG(MD=-0.57, 95%CI[-1.27, 0.12], P=0.11) and 2hPBG(MD=-0.69, 95%CI[-1.70, 0.33], P=0.18) in the experimental group were similar to those in the control group after treatment with Tangmaikang Granules alone or in combination. There was no difference in the safety(RR=1.28, 95%CI[0.58, 2.82], P=0.54) of Tangmaikang Granules in the treatment of DPN between the experimental group and the control group. Tangmaikang Granules could significantly increase clinical effective rate and nerve conduction velocity as well as improve symptoms of peripheral nerve and blood glucose level, and no serious adverse reactions were identified yet. Further validation was needed in future in large-sample, multicenter, high-quality RCTs.

Introduction: Urological surgery after renal transplantation leaves patients at risk of infection and further urological complications. Our objective was to discern patient factors associated with adverse outcomes following renal transplantation to identify patients who would benefit from close urological follow-up., Methods: Retrospective chart review was conducted for patients undergoing renal transplantation between August 1, 2016 and July 30, 2019 at a tertiary care academic center. Data on patient demographics, medical history, and surgical history were collected. Primary outcomes observed were urinary tract infection, urosepsis, urinary retention, unexpected urology visit, and urological procedures within 3 months of transplant. Variables determined significant by hypothesis testing were used in logistic regression modeling for each primary outcome., Results: Of the 789 renal transplant patients, 217 (27.5%) developed postoperative urinary tract infection and 124 (15.7%) developed postoperative urosepsis. Patients with postoperative urinary tract infection were more likely to be female (OR 2.2, P < . 01), have pre-existing prostate cancer (OR 3.1, P < . 01), and recurrent urinary tract infections (OR 2.1, P < . 01). After renal transplant, unexpected urology visits were observed in 191 (24.2%) patients, and urological procedures were performed in 65 (8.2%) patients. Postoperative urinary retention was noted in 47 (6.0%) patients and seen more often in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (OR 2.8, P = .033) and prior prostate surgery (OR 3.0, P = .072)., Conclusions: Identifiable risk factors associated with urological complications after renal transplantation include benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer, urinary retention, and recurrent urinary tract infections. Female renal transplant patients are at increased risk of postoperative urinary tract infection and urosepsis. These patient subsets would benefit from establishing urological care and pre-transplant urological evaluation including urinalysis, urine cultures, urodynamic studies, and close follow-up post-transplant.

Background: T-box transcription factor 2 (TBX2) is a member of T-box gene family whose members are highly conserved in evolution and encoding genes and are involved in the regulation of developmental processes. The encoding genes play an important role in growth and development. Although TBX2 has been widely studied in cancer cell growth and development, its biological functions in bovine cumulus cells remain unclear., Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effects of TBX2 in bovine cumulus cells., Methods: TBX2 gene was knockdown with siRNA to clarify the function in cellular physiological processes. Cell proliferation and cycle changes were determined by xCELLigence cell function analyzer and flow cytometry. Mitochondrial membrane potential and autophagy were detected by fluorescent dye staining and immunofluorescence techniques. Western blot and quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the expression changes of proliferation and autophagy-related proteins. Aadenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, glucose metabolism, and cholesterol synthesis of cumulus cells were measured by optical density and chemiluminescence analysis., Results: After inhibition of TBX2, the cell cycle was disrupted. The levels of apoptosis, ratio of light chain 3 beta II/I, and reactive oxygen species were increased. The proliferation, expansion ability, ATP production, and the amount of cholesterol secreted by cumulus cells were significantly decreased., Conclusions: TBX2 plays important roles in regulating the cells' proliferation, expansion, apoptosis, and autophagy; maintaining the mitochondrial function and cholesterol generation of bovine cumulus cells., (© 2022 The Authors. Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Purpose: Occult Hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) is of great significance to the transmission of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the evolution of the patient's clinical outcome. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of OBI in Asia., Methods: Literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library database, Web of Science and Embase with the keywords of 'Hepatitis B virus', 'occult infection', 'prevalence'. 70 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was performed using random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of OBI and 95% confidence interval (CI). The data were analyzed in R 4.1.2., Results: The overall prevalence of OBI was 4% (95%CI: 0.03-0.06) in Asia. Subgroup analysis based on geographic region showed a prevalence of 3% (95%CI 0.02-0.06) in East Asia, 9% (95%CI 0.05-0.15) in West Asia, 3% (95%CI 0.01-0.11) in Southern Asia and 9% (95%CI 0.05-0.15) in Southeast Asia. Subgroup analysis demonstrated a prevalence of 1% (95%CI 0.00-0.02) in general population, 5% (95%CI: 0.03-0.08) in high-risk population, 9% (95%CI: 0.03-0.22) in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patient, 18% (95%CI: 0.09-0.32) in the hepatopathy patients., Conclusion: Based on the meta-analysis of the prevalence of OBI in different populations, we concluded that the prevalence of OBI in the high-risk population, hepatopathy patients, and HIV-infected patients was higher than that in the general population. A systematic review showed that OBI was associated with disease progression and prognosis. Therefore, these populations should be routinely screened for OBI and promptly intervened to avoid promoting disease progression.

Biofilms are sessile microbial communities growing on surfaces, which are encased in some self-produced extracellular material. Beneficial biofilm could be widely used in agriculture, food, medicine, environment and other fields. As an ideal biocontrol agent, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B4 can form a strong biofilm under static conditions. In this study, we screened out metal compounds that enhanced or inhibited the biofilm formation ability of B4, established the relationship between the biofilm of B4 strain and its postharvest biocontrol effect, and explored the regulation of metal compounds on the biofilm formation. The results showed 0.5 mmol L -1 ferric chloride could enhance the biofilm formation and strengthen the antifungal effect of B4, indicating that there was a positive relationship between the growth of biofilm and its biocontrol effect. The enhanced biofilm had a certain biocontrol effect on different fruit, including peach, loquat, Kyoho grape and cherry tomato. Furthermore, the expression of degU and tasA was affected by metal ion treatment, which meant the genes might be essential for the biofilm formation of B4. Our findings suggested that biofilm of B. amyloliquefaciens played an essential role in the process of biocontrol and it might be a novel strategy for managing postharvest fruit decay., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest There are no conflicts to declare., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

We present a framework for fast synthesizing indoor scenes, given a room geometry and a list of objects with learnt priors. Unlike existing data-driven solutions, which often learn priors by co-occurrence analysis and statistical model fitting, our method measures the strengths of spatial relations by tests for complete spatial randomness (CSR), and learns discrete priors based on samples with the ability to accurately represent exact layout patterns. With the learnt priors, our method achieves both acceleration and plausibility by partitioning the input objects into disjoint groups, followed by layout optimization using position-based dynamics (PBD) based on the Hausdorff metric. Experiments show that our framework is capable of measuring more reasonable relations among objects and simultaneously generating varied arrangements in seconds compared with the state-of-the-art works.

Background: Information on rhabdomyolysis-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) in the emergency department or general ward is limited., Aim: To assess the risk factors, outcomes and clinical correlates with intensive care unit (ICU) transfer of patients with rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI., Methods: Patients with rhabdomyolysis were divided into the rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI group and the rhabdomyolysis without AKI group. Inhospital outcomes, including ICU transfer, mortality, length of stay, daily cost and renal recovery were analysed. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify the association between rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI and ICU transfer., Results: Among 149 patients with rhabdomyolysis, 68 (45.6%) developed AKI. Age and urine protein were important risk factors for incidence of rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI. Patients with rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI had higher levels of undergoing dialysis (19.1% vs 2.5%; P < 0.01), all-cause mortality (13.2% vs 1.2%; P < 0.01), cost of hospitalisation (10.8 1000 yuan, IQR (5.5, 3.5) vs 5.9 1000 yuan, IQR 5.9 (3.6, 9.9); P = 0.03), as well as longer length of hospital stay (8.0 days (5.0, 14.0)) versus (6.0 days (4.0, 11.0); P = 0.02). Additionally, the percentage of patients with AKI who transferred to ICU was higher than patients without AKI (33.8% vs 12.3%; P < 0.002) and rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI was an independent risk factor for ICU transfer (adjusted odds ratio = 2.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-6.8, P = 0.03)., Conclusion: Rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI was common in the emergency department or general ward and led to more severe outcomes. It was also associated with an increased risk of ICU transfer., (© 2021 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.)

Objectives: Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) receiving post-transplant immunosuppression show increased COVID-19-related mortality. It is unclear whether an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccines can overcome the reduced immune responsiveness against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants., Methods: We analysed humoral immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in 53 SOTR receiving SARS-CoV-2 vaccination., Results: Following the initial vaccination series, 60.3% of SOTR showed no measurable neutralisation and only 18.9% demonstrated neutralising activity of > 90%. More intensive immunosuppression, antimetabolites in particular, negatively impacted antiviral immunity. While absolute IgG levels were lower in SOTR than controls, antibody titres against microbial recall antigens were higher. By contrast, SOTR showed reduced vaccine-induced IgG/IgA antibody titres against SARS-CoV-2 and its delta variants and fewer linear B-cell epitopes, indicating reduced B-cell diversity. Importantly, a third vaccine dose led to an increase in anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titres and neutralising activity across alpha, beta and delta variants and to the induction of anti-SARS-CoV-2 CD4 + T cells in a subgroup of patients analysed. By contrast, we observed significantly lower antibody titres after the third dose with the omicron variant compared to the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and the improvement in neutralising activity was much less pronounced than for all the other variants., Conclusion: Only a small subgroup of solid organ transplant recipients is able to generate functional antibodies after an initial vaccine series; however, an additional vaccine dose resulted in dramatically improved antibody responses against all SARS-CoV-2 variants except omicron where antibody responses and neutralising activity remained suboptimal., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Clinical & Translational Immunology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology, Inc.)

Objective: To explore the diagnostic value of third ventricle width (TVW) measured by transcranial ultrasound (TCS) in the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by analyzing and comparing the image characteristics of TVW in AD patients and healthy controls, and its correlation with cranial magnetic resonance medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) visual score and neuropsychological characteristics. Methods: TCS examination, MTA score and neuropsychological tests were performed in 39 confirmed AD and 41 normal controls from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between January and July 2021. The correlation of TVW with MTA score and neuropsychological characteristics was analyzed and compared between the two groups. Results: A total of thirty-nine AD patients were enrolled, with 28 males and 11 females, aged (73±9) years, including 18 mild, 20 moderate, and 1 severe AD patient. Meanwhile, 41 healthy controls were also included, with 24 males and 17 females, aged (69±6) years old. TVW in AD patients was significantly wider than that in normal controls [0.76(0.66, 0.87) cm vs 0.50(0.44, 0.56) cm, P <0.001]. In neuropsychological tests, compared with normal controls, AD patients showed impaired performances in several cognitive functions, and there were statistically significant differences in delayed memory [0(0, 0) vs 4.0(4.0, 5.0), P <0.001], naming [2.0(1.0, 3.0) vs 3.0(2.0, 3.0), P <0.001], executive function [2.0(2.0, 3.0) vs 3.0(2.5, 3.0), P <0.001], language [0.0(0.0, 2.0) vs 3.0(2.0, 3.0), P <0.001] and other aspects between AD patients and normal controls (all P <0.05). TVW was negatively correlated with immediate memory ( r =-0.339, P =0.035), delayed recall ( r =-0.523, P <0.001), attention and computing power ( r =-0.409, P =0.045), visual space and executive function ( r =-0.333, P =0.039), but positively correlated with the atrophy of the medial temporal lobe ( r = 0.552, P <0.001). Conclusions: TCS can be used to measure TVW in AD patients. When combined with MTA score and neuropsychological tests, it can provide a reliable objective basis for the clinical diagnosis of AD.

Compost-based organic fertilizers made from animal manures may contain high levels of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, the factors affecting the abundance and profile of ARGs in organic fertilizers remain unclear. We conducted a national-wide survey in China to investigate the effect of material type and composting process on ARG abundance in commercial organic fertilizers and quantified the contributions of bacterial composition and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) to the structuring of ARGs, using quantitative PCR and Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The tetracycline, sulfonamide, aminoglycoside and macrolide resistance genes were present at high levels in all organic fertilizers. Seven ARGs that confer resistance to clinically important antibiotics, including three β-lactam resistance genes, three quinolone resistance genes and the colistin resistance gene mcr-1, were detected in 8 - 50% the compost samples, whereas the vancomycin resistance gene vanC was not detected. Raw material type had a significant (p < 0.001) effect on the ARG abundance, with composts made from animal feces except some cattle feces generally having higher loads of ARGs than those from non-animal raw materials. Composting process type showed no significant (p > 0.05) effect on ARG abundance in the organic fertilizers. MGEs exerted a greater influence on ARG composition than bacterial community, suggesting a strong mobility of ARGs in the organic fertilizers. Our study highlights the need to manage the risk of ARG dissemination from agricultural wastes., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine whether the onset of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is associated with changes in brainstem neuronal pathway dysfunction as reflected by vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) and to evaluate associations between VEMPs and REM sleep without atonia (RSWA) in patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease (PD) and isolated RBD (iRBD)., Methods: Eighty-two early-stage PD patients, 40 iRBD patients, and 41 healthy control individuals underwent one-night video-polysomnography (vPSG) and VEMPs examination. We compared cervical (cVEMP), ocular (oVEMP), and masseter (mVEMP) VEMP parameters among PD with RBD (PD + RBD), PD without RBD (PD-RBD), iRBD, and control groups and analyzed correlations between VEMPs and RSWA in PD and iRBD groups., Results: The PD + RBD group showed delays in bilateral cVEMP (Lp13, Ln23, Rn23: all p < 0.05) and oVEMP (Ln10, Rn10, Rp15: all p < 0.05) peak latencies compared with the PD-RBD group. Total cVEMP scores were higher in the PD + RBD group than in the iRBD group (p = 0.033). In PD patients, phasic RSWA was correlated with total cVEMP scores (p = 0.003), and tonic RSWA was correlated with left oVEMP scores (p = 0.013)., Conclusions: Brainstem neurophysiology as evidenced by altered VEMPs in patients with PD and iRBD could reflect disease evolvement. Moreover, VEMPs alterations may vary depending on the presence of RBD in PD patients. The associations between altered RSWA and VEMP parameters highlight the meaningfulness of detecting brainstem dysfunction in early-stage PD., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As the supplement of the flora of Zhejiang, East China, two new species were described with illustrations. Cerastiumhuadingense Y.F.Lu, W.Y.Xie & X.F.Jin (Caryophyllaceae) differs from C.qingliangfengicum in having sterile stems absent, leaves sessile, petals slightly longer than sepals, and stamens slightly shorter than sepals. Ixeridiumdimorphifolium Y.L.Xu, Y.F.Lu & X.Cai (Asteraceae) differs from I.beauverdianum in having plant stoloniferous, basal leaves dimorphic, involucre 8‒10 mm long, inner phyllaries 8, and florets 7‒10. Paraphlomissetulosa C.Y.Wu & H.W.Li (Lamiaceae) was reviewed and morphological characters of the corolla and stamens of its type and the specimens collected in the field survey were critically examined. With barbate anthers and strongly divergent anther cells, Paraphlomissetulosa was transferred to Sinopogonanthera , and S.setulosa (C.Y.Wu & H.W.Li) H.W.Zhang & X.F.Jin was consequently combined., (Yi-Fei Lu, Yue-Liang Xu, Wen-Yuan Xie, Hong-Wei Zhang, Zi-Hong Zheng, Xin Cai, Xiao-Feng Jin.)

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary supplementation with acidifiers on the growth performance, meat quality, and intestinal health of broiler chickens. A total of 648 male Arbor Acres broiler chickens at 1 d old were randomly divided into 6 groups, and each group consisted of 6 replicates with 18 broilers per replicate. The dietary treatments were as follows: negative control (NC, the basal diet), NC + antibiotic (enramycin, 8 mg/kg, positive control [PC]), NC + phosphoric acid (PA, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 g/kg), and NC + lactic acid (LA, 0.3 g/kg). The feeding trial lasted for 42 d. The results showed that the feed-to-gain ratio of the NC + acidifier groups was lower than that of the NC and PC groups from 1 to 42 d ( P  < 0.05). Compared with the values in the NC group, the pH of breast muscle was significantly higher in the NC + PA (0.2 g/kg) and LA (0.3 g/kg) groups ( P  < 0.05), and the cooking loss was lower in the breast muscle of the NC + PA (0.1 g/kg) and LA (0.3 g/kg) groups ( P  < 0.05). In addition, the shear force of the breast muscle and thigh muscle and the pH value in the crop, gizzard and duodenum of the antibiotic and acidifier groups were significantly decreased ( P  < 0.05). Moreover, the trypsin, chymotrypsin, and lipase activities of the duodenum in the NC + PA (0.2 and 0.3 g/kg) groups, as well as the villus height-to-crypt depth (VH:CD) ratio of the duodenum in the NC + PA (0.1 g/kg) group was significantly greater ( P  < 0.05) compared with those in the NC group. Meanwhile, the number of total aerobic bacteria, Escherichia coli and Salmonella in the cecum of the NC + PA (0.1 g/kg) and LA (0.3 g/kg) groups were decreased ( P  < 0.05). Collectively, diet supplementation with acidifiers could improve the growth performance, meat quality, and intestinal health of broilers, in which the effects of PA (0.1 g/kg and 0.2 g/kg) are better than the other supplementations., Competing Interests: We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, and there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the content of this paper., (© 2021 Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.)

Background: Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) is a noninvasive biomarker for the early detection of organ transplant rejection and other causes of graft injury. For nonrejection renal injuries, there is little information about the performance characteristics of this biomarker. We highlight some of the possible causes of kidney injury that may arise in patients with normal dd-cfDNA levels., Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of solitary renal transplant cases between January 2017 and November 2019. Those who had an abnormal laboratory or pathological finding within 1 mo of a normal dd-cfDNA test were selected. Subgroups were stratified for those who had normal or abnormal/rising serum creatinine, and differences between the groups were analyzed., Results: Of 414 individuals who received a kidney transplant, 24 (7.5%) had a total of 41 normal dd-cfDNA values and 51 abnormal laboratory tests or histologic findings. The most common graft-injuring event was BK virus viremia (24 of 51). Other abnormal findings included urinary traction infections (n = 4), CMV viremia (n = 4), and biopsies demonstrating antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) (n = 2), T cell-mediated rejection (n = 1), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (n = 2), nondonor-specific antibody chronic AMR (n = 1), and interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (n = 7). Subgroup analysis of those with normal dd-cfDNA and normal/stable versus abnormal/rising creatinine showed that BK virus viremia was the most common abnormal finding in both groups at 53% and 38% respectively. On biopsy, 1 case of acute T cell-mediated rejection (1B and 2B) was seen with normal/stable creatinine, whereas 1 of nonspecific C4d focally positive and 1 of nondonor-specific antibody AMR were seen with abnormal/rising creatinine., Conclusions: Low levels of serum dd-cfDNA do not preclude detection of active graft-injuring events and that subclinical injuries may be developing. Context is important in the interpretation of dd-cfDNA, so renal biopsy remains a part of the diagnostic pathway for allograft dysfunction and maintenance of allograft health., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Transplantation Direct. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)