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Abstract Background ATPase activity and the antioxidant function of intestinal tissue can reflect intestinal cell metabolic activity and oxidative damage, which might be related to intestinal function. However, the specific influence of intestinal ATPase activity and antioxidant function on growth performance, feed conversion efficiency, and the intestinal microbiota in sheep remains unclear. Results This study analyzed the correlation between ATPase activity and antioxidant function in the jejunum of 92 Hu sheep and their growth performance and feed conversion efficiency. Additionally, individuals with the highest (H group) and lowest (L group) jejunum MDA content and Na+ K+-ATPase activity were further screened, and the effects of jejunum ATPase activity and MDA content on the morphology and microbial community of sheep intestines were analyzed. There was a significant correlation between jejunum ATPase and SOD activity and the initial weight of Hu sheep (P < 0.01). The H-MDA group exhibited significantly higher average daily gain (ADG) from 0 to 80 days old and higher body weight (BW) after 80 days. ATPase and SOD activities, and MDA levels correlated significantly and positively with heart weight. The jejunum crypt depth and circular muscle thickness in the H-ATP group were significantly higher than in the L-ATP group, and the villus length, crypt depth, and longitudinal muscle thickness in the H-MDA group were significantly higher than in the L-MDA group (P < 0.01). High ATPase activity and MDA content significantly reduced the jejunum microbial diversity, as indicated by the Chao1 index and observed species, and affected the relative abundance of specific taxa. Among species, the relative abundance of Olsenella umbonata was significantly higher in the H-MDA group than in the L-MDA group (P < 0.05), while Methanobrevibacter ruminantium abundance was significantly lower than in the L-MDA group (P < 0.05). In vitro culture experiments confirmed that MDA promoted the proliferation of Olsenella umbonata. Thus, ATPase and SOD activities in the jejunum tissues of Hu sheep are predominantly influenced by congenital factors, and lambs with higher birth weights exhibit lower Na+ K+-ATPase, Ca2+ Mg2+-ATPase, and SOD activities. Conclusions The ATPase activity and antioxidant performance of intestinal tissue are closely related to growth performance, heart development, and intestinal tissue morphology. High ATPase activity and MDA content reduced the microbial diversity of intestinal tissue and affect the relative abundance of specific taxa, representing a potential interaction between the host and its intestinal microbiota.

Abstract Background In the beef industry, bull calves are usually castrated to improve flavor and meat quality; however, this can reduce their growth and slaughter performance. The gut microbiota is known to exert a significant influence on growth and slaughter performance. However, there is a paucity of research investigating the impact of castration on gut microbiota composition and its subsequent effects on slaughter performance and meat flavor. Result The objective of this study was to examine the processes via which castration hinders slaughter productivity and enhances meat quality. Bull and castrated calves were maintained under the same management conditions, and at slaughter, meat quality was assessed, and ileum and epithelial tissue samples were obtained. The research employed metagenomic sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics techniques to investigate the makeup of the microbiota and identify differential metabolites. The findings of this study revealed the Carcass weight and eye muscle area /carcass weight in the bull group were significantly higher than those in the steer group. There were no significant differences in the length, width, and crypt depth of the ileum villi between the two groups. A total of 53 flavor compounds were identified in the two groups of beef, of which 16 were significantly higher in the steer group than in the bull group, and 5 were significantly higher in the bull group than in the steer group. In addition, bacteria, Eukaryota, and virus species were significantly separated between the two groups. The lipid metabolism pathways of α-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, and unsaturated fatty acids were significantly enriched in the Steers group. Compared with the steer group, the organic system pathway is significantly enriched in the bull group. The study also found that five metabolites (LPC (0:0/20:3), LPC (20:3/0:0), LPE (0:0/22:5), LPE (22:5/0:0), D-Mannosamine), and three species (s_Cloning_vector_Hsp70_LexA-HP1, s_Bacteroides_Coprophilus_CAG: 333, and s_Clostridium_nexile-CAG: 348) interfere with each other and collectively have a positive impact on the flavor compounds of beef. Conclusions These findings provide a basic understanding that under the same management conditions, castration does indeed reduce the slaughter performance of bulls and improve the flavor of beef. Microorganisms and metabolites contribute to these changes through interactions.

Qingqiao Kangdu granule (QQKDG), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used clinically to treat various viral diseases, including flu, mumps, and viral hepatitis, owing to its abundant bioactivities. Nevertheless, the chemical components of QQKDG have not been sufficiently elucidated; consequently, the development of standards for quality evaluation and complete understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms of action are hindered. Therefore, a systematic approach must be developed to efficiently discover novel compounds and advance pharmacological research. In this regard, this study proposed an integrated strategy for the comprehensive characterization of the chemical components in QQKDG by UHPLC-Q-Exactive-MS coupled with feature-based molecular networking (FBMN) to improve annotation accuracy and achieve visualization. First, the chromatographic and mass spectrum conditions were optimized to obtain good separation and abundant signal response. Subsequently, an in-house library was established by searching for relevant literature to improve annotation confidence. Finally, the raw data acquired under optimized conditions were uploaded to the FBMN to achieve component visualization by connecting precursor ions of the same color, in which compounds have similar structural features. Thus, a total of 231 compounds, including 89 flavonoids, 36 phenolic acids, 26 phenylethanoid glycosides, 23 coumarins, 17 chlorogenic acid derivatives, 14 terpenoids, 10 alkaloids, 10 lignans and 6 other compounds, were characterized, and numerous novel compounds with new structures were explored. Thus, this study provides a strategy for comprehensive characterization, which can also be applied to other TCMs.

Oregano essential oil (OEO) primarily contains phenolic compounds and can serve as a dietary supplement for fattening bulls. However, the precise molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon remains largely elusive. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of adding OEO to diet on the integrity of the intestinal barrier, composition of the colonic microbiome, and production of microbial metabolites in fattening bulls. Our goal was to provide insights into the utilization of plant essential oil products in promoting gastrointestinal health and welfare in animals. We employed amplicon sequencing and metabolome sequencing techniques to investigate how dietary supplementation with OEO impacted the intestinal barrier function in bulls. The inclusion of OEO in the diet resulted in several notable effects on the colon of fattening bulls. These effects included an increase in the muscle thickness of the colon, goblet cell number, short-chain fatty acid concentrations, digestive enzyme activity, relative mRNA expression of intestinal barrier-related genes, and relative expression of the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10. Additionally, α-amylase activity and the relative mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines decreased. Moreover, dietary OEO supplementation increased the abundance of intestinal Bacteroides, Coprobacillus, Lachnospiraceae_UCG_001, and Faecalitalea. Metabolomic analysis indicated that OEO primarily increased the levels of 5-aminovaleric acid, 3-methoxysalicylic acid, and creatinine. In contrast, the levels of maltose, lactulose, lactose, and D-trehalose decreased. Correlation analysis showed that altered colonic microbes and metabolites affected intestinal barrier function. Taken together, these results demonstrate that OEO facilitates internal intestinal environmental homeostasis by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria while inhibiting harmful ones.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of oregano essential oil on IgA+, IgG+, and IgM+ cells in the jejunum of castrated Holstein bulls. Twelve castrated Holstein bulls were randomly divided into control (YCK) and oregano essential oil (YEO) groups. Pathological changes in the jejunum were observed by HE staining, and the expression levels of IgA, IgG, and IgM in the jejunum were detected by ELISA. The distributions of IgA+, IgG+, and IgM+ cells in the jejunum were analysed by multiplex immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. The results showed that the jejunal villi were detached in the YCK group, which may have been related to inflammation, while the intestinal epithelium was clear and intact in the YEO group. The expressions of IgA, IgG, and IgM were significantly reduced by 40.75%, 30.76%, and 50.87%. The IgA+, IgG+, and IgM+ cells were diffusely distributed in the lamina propria of the jejunum, and were reduced by 17.07%, 6.44%, and 6.15%, respectively. Oregano essential oil did not alter the distribution characteristics of IgA+, IgG+, or IgM+ cells in the jejunum, but it suppressed inflammatory response, decreased immunoglobulin content, and significantly enhanced the formation of an immune barrier in the gastrointestinal mucosa.

Feeding with a suitable level of milk replacer (MR) can improve the survival rate and stimulate the growth potential of early lambs. However, feeding excessive MR might be detrimental to rumen development and microbial colonization. Herein, we investigated the effects of feeding different levels of MR on rumen digestive function and ruminal microorganisms. Fourteen healthy male Hu lambs with similar birth weights and detailed pedigree records were divided into two groups to receive low (2% of average body weight per day) and high (4% of average body weight per day) levels of MR. We analyzed the effects of the MR feeding level on growth performance, fiber degradation rates, rumen fermentation parameters, enzyme activities and rumen histomorphology. We found that feeding with a high level of MR improved the average daily gain of early lambs, but decreased the starter intake, rumen weight and papillae length. We also analyzed the effects of the MR feeding level on the rumen microbiota using 16S-rRNA amplicon sequencing data. The results showed that high a MR feeding level increased the rumen microbial diversity but decreased the abundance of many carbohydrate degrading bacteria. Several bacterial genera with significant differences correlated positively with rumen cellulase activity and the acid detergent fiber degradation rate. Our results suggested that a high level of MR could improve the growth performance of early lambs in the short term; however, in the long term, it would be detrimental to rumen development and have adverse effects on the adaptation process of the microbiota to solid feed.

In animal husbandry, feed efficiency is a crucial economic trait. In this study, the general linear model was used to perform association analysis for various genotypes and feed conversion ratio (FCR)-related traits. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of SHISA3 and RFC3 mRNA levels in 10 tissues from 6 sheep. The results showed that SNPs in the NC_040257.1:c.625 T > C and NC_040261.1:g.9905 T > C were analyzed whether they were associated to feed efficiency parameters in Hu sheep (body weight, feed intake, average daily growth, and feed conversion ratio). NC_040257.1:c.625 T > C was shown to be significantly associated with body weight at 80, 100, and 120 days as well as feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05), whereas NC_040261.1:g.9905 T > C was found to be significantly associated with average daily weight gain from 80-140 days (ADG80-140) and FCR (P < 0.05). In Hu sheep, the CC genotypes of SHISA3 and RFC3 were the most common genotypes related to feed efficiency traits. Furthermore, the feed conversion ratio of the combined genotypes TTSHISA3-CCRFC3, TTSHISA3-CTRFC3, TTSHISA3-TTRFC3, CTSHISA3-CCRFC3 and CTSHISA3-CTRFC3 was significantly better than the FCR of CCSHISA3-TTRFC3. RT-qPCR results showed that the expression levels of SHISA3 were lower in the lung than in spleen, kidney, muscle and lymph (P < 0.05), and RFC3 was the lung had a highly significant higher expression level than the heart, liver, spleen, and muscle (P < 0.01). In conclusion, SHISA3 and RFC3 polymorphisms can be used as genetic markers for improving feed conversion efficiency in Hu sheep.

Tunnel boring machine (TBM) vibration induced by cutting complex ground contains essential information that can help engineers evaluate the interaction between a cutterhead and the ground itself. In this study, deep recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were used for vibration-based working face ground identification. First, field monitoring was conducted to obtain the TBM vibration data when tunneling in changing geological conditions, including mixed-face, homogeneous, and transmission ground. Next, RNNs and CNNs were utilized to develop vibration-based prediction models, which were then validated using the testing dataset. The accuracy of the long short-term memory (LSTM) and bidirectional LSTM (Bi-LSTM) models was approximately 70% with raw data; however, with instantaneous frequency transmission, the accuracy increased to approximately 80%. Two types of deep CNNs, GoogLeNet and ResNet, were trained and tested with time-frequency scalar diagrams from continuous wavelet transformation. The CNN models, with an accuracy greater than 96%, performed significantly better than the RNN models. The ResNet-18, with an accuracy of 98.28%, performed the best. When the sample length was set as the cutterhead rotation period, the deep CNN and RNN models achieved the highest accuracy while the proposed deep CNN model simultaneously achieved high prediction accuracy and feedback efficiency. The proposed model could promptly identify the ground conditions at the working face without stopping the normal tunneling process, and the TBM working parameters could be adjusted and optimized in a timely manner based on the predicted results.

Abstract Background Liver metastasis is the most common cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 induces CRC metastasis by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which promotes CRC cell liver metastasis. Mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), the opposite of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, has been proposed as a mechanism for the establishment of metastatic neoplasms. However, the molecular mechanism of MET remains unclear. Methods Using Immunohistochemistry, western blotting, invasion assays, real-time quantitative PCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assays, human miRNA arrays, and xenograft mouse model, we determined the role of hepatocyte exosome-derived miR-203a-3p in CRC MET. Results In our study, we found that miR-203a-3p derived from hepatocyte exosomes increased colorectal cancer cells E-cadherin expression, inhibited Src expression, and reduced activity. In this way miR-203a-3p induced the decreased invasion rate of CRC cells. Coclusion MiR-203a-3p derived from hepatocyte exosomes plays an important role of CRC cells to colonize in liver.

Excessive fat deposition in the tail of sheep will affect its feed efficiency, which will increase the feeding cost. The purpose of this study was to identify the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of RAP1GAP and rBAT genes by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing, the SNPs were genotyped by KASP genotyping assays to evaluate their association with tail fat deposition traits. The results showed that two intronic mutations of g.13561 G > A and g.1460 T > C were found in RAP1GAP and rBAT, respectively. There were three genotypes of GG, AG, AA and CC, CT and TT at these two loci, respectively. Association analysis showed that g.13561 G > A of RAP1GAP was associated with tail width, tail fat weight and relative tail fat weight (P < 0.05). The g.1460 T > C of rBAT was associated with tail width and tail fat weight (P < 0.05). Different combinations of genotypes also differed significantly with tail fat deposition traits. In the tail fat tissue, the expression levels of RAP1GAP gene was significantly higher in small-tailed sheep than in big-tailed sheep, and the expression levels of rBAT gene was significantly higher in big-tailed sheep than in small-tailed sheep. In the liver, the expression levels of RAP1GAP and rBAT gene was significantly higher at 6 months than at 0 and 3 months. In conclusion, RAP1GAP and rBAT polymorphisms can be used as a candidate molecular marker to reduce tail fat deposition in sheep.

Fat deposition is an important economic trait that is closely related to feed efficiency and carcass performance in livestock. In this study, the fat deposition-related traits of 1,293 Hu sheep were measured and descriptive statistical analysis was conducted. The results showed that the coefficient of variation of all fat deposition-related traits was higher than 24%. In addition, single nucleotide polymorphisms and the expression characteristics of TRAPPC9 (encoding trafficking protein particle complex subunit 9) and BAIAP2 (encoding brain-specific Angiogenesis inhibitor 1-associated protein 2) genes in Hu sheep were detected using PCR amplification, Sanger sequencing, KASPar genotyping, and quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). The associations between SNPs and fat deposition-related traits were also analyzed. Two intronic mutations, TRAPPC9 g.57654 A > G and BAIAP2 g.46061 C > T, were identified in Hu sheep. The result of association analysis showed that TRAPPC9 g.57654 A > G and BAIAP2 g.46061 C > T were both significantly associated with the weight of tail fat, tail fat relative weight (body weight), and tail fat relative weight (carcass) (P < 0.05). Comprehensive effects analysis showed that there were significant differences between the combined genotypes and tail fat and perirenal fat deposition. Moreover, qRT-PCR analysis showed that TRAPPC9 and BAIAP2 are widely expressed, and their expression levels were significantly higher in the small-tail group compared with those in the big-tail group (P < 0.01). These results provided important candidate molecular markers that could be used in strategies to reduce tail fat deposition in Hu sheep.

Learning capabilities among students are the crucial element for the student’s success in learning a particular language, and this phenomenon needs recent studies. The current study examines the impact of self-efficacy and resistance to innovation on the demotivation and insufficient learning capabilities of preservice English normal students in China. The current research also investigates the mediating impact of demotivation among self-efficacy, resistance to innovation, and insufficient learning capabilities. The questionnaires were employed by the researchers to gather the data from chosen respondents. The preservice English students are the respondents of the study. These are selected using purposive sampling. These questionnaires were forwarded to them by personal visits. The researchers have sent 690 surveys but only received 360 surveys and used them for analysis. These surveys represented a 52.17% response rate. The SPSS-AMOS was applied to test the relationships among variables and also test the hypotheses of the study. The results revealed that self-efficacy and resistance to innovation have a significant and a positive linkage with demotivation and insufficient learning capabilities. The findings also indicated that demotivation significantly mediates self-efficacy, resistance to innovation, and insufficient learning capabilities. The article helps the policymakers to establish the regulations related to the improvement of learning capabilities using innovation adoption and motivation of the students.

Although early feeding strategies influence intestinal development, the effects of milk replacer (MR) feeding level on intestinal structure and functional development and underlying regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, 14 male Hu lambs were fed MR at 2% or 4% of their average body weight and weaned at 35 days of age. The MR was produced by the Institute of Feed Research of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and it contains 96.91% dry matter, 23.22% protein, and 13.20% fat. Jejunal tissues were assessed by RNA-seq for differences in the gene expression of lambs at 49 days of age; regulatory pathways and mechanisms of the effects of early nutrition on intestinal function and development were analyzed, along with growth performance, feed intake, jejunal histomorphology, and digestive enzyme activities. Increasing MR- feeding levels increased dry matter intake and daily gain before weaning, as well as lactase, amylase, lipase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin activities and intestinal villus length and muscular thickness. Overall, 1179 differentially expressed genes were identified, which were enriched in nutrient metabolism, coagulation cascades, and other pathways. Further, intensive MR feeding affected insulin sensitivity to reduce excessive glucose interception by intestinal tissues to ensure adequate absorbed glucose release into the portal circulation and promoted lipid and protein degradation in intestinal tissues to meet the energy demand of intestinal cells by regulating AHSG, IGFBP1, MGAT2, ITIH, and CYP2E1 expression.

Atherosclerosis, as a chronic inflammatory response, is one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases. Atherosclerosis is induced by endothelial cell dysfunction, migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells, accumulation of foam cells and inflammatory response, resulting in plaque accumulation, narrowing and hardening of the artery wall, and ultimately leading to myocardial infarction or sudden death and other serious consequences. Flavonoid is a kind of natural polyphenol compound widely existing in fruits with various structures, mainly including flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavanols, anthocyanins, isoflavones, and chalcone, etc. Because of its potential health benefits, it is now used in supplements, cosmetics and medicines, and researchers are increasingly paying attention to its role in atherosclerosis. In this paper, we will focus on several important nodes in the development of atherosclerotic disease, including endothelial cell dysfunction, smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation, foam cell accumulation and inflammatory response. At the same time, through the classification of flavonoids from fruits, the role and potential mechanism of flavonoids in atherosclerosis were reviewed, providing a certain direction for the development of fruit flavonoids in the treatment of atherosclerosis drugs.

The creep slope is a dynamic development process, from stable deformation to instability failure. For the slope with sliding zone, it generally creeps along the sliding zone. If the sliding zone controlling the slope sliding does not have obvious displacement, and the slope has unexpected instability without warning, the harm and potential safety hazard are often much greater than the visible creep. Studying the development trend of this kind of landslide is of great significance to slope treatment and landslide early warning. Taking Xiashan village landslide in Huishan Town, Xinchang County, Zhejiang Province as an example, the landslide point was determined by numerical simulation in 2006. Generally, the landslide is a typical long-term slow deformation towards the free direction. Based on a new round of investigation and monitoring, this paper shows that there are signs of creeping on the surface of the landslide since 2003, and there is no creep on the deep sliding surface. The joint fissures in the landslide area are relatively developed, and rainfall infiltration will soften the soft rock and soil layer and greatly reduce its stability. This paper collects and arranges the rainfall data of the landslide area in recent 30 years, constructs the slope finite element model considering rainfall conditions through ANSYS finite element software, and carries out numerical simulation stability analysis. The results show that if cracks appear below or above the slope’s sliding surface, or are artificially damaged, the sliding surface may develop into weak cracks. Then, the plastic zone of penetration is offset; In the case of heavy rain, the slope can unload itself under the action of rainfall. At this time, the slope was unstable and the landslide happened suddenly.

Based on the energy consumption and economic data of a heavy chemical industrial park in northwest China from 2013 to 2020, the carbon emissions of the park were calculated. The generalized Divisia index method (GDIM) was employed to analyze the effects of eight absolute and ten relative indicators of carbon emission changes in the heavy chemical industrial park. The results show that optimizing the electricity structure, reducing the energy output and carbon output intensities, and improving investment efficiency have a significant effect on inhibiting carbon emission. The inhibitory effect from reducing investment carbon intensity, fossil energy, and the total energy consumption scale was clearly evident. The deterioration of fossil fuel energy structure, and the increase in investment, output, and total electricity consumption scales are the main factors affecting carbon emission growth. Carbon emissions from industrial processes have a limited impact on carbon emissions. Finally, pertinent suggestions are provided.

Interest in the third-row transition metal osmium and its compounds as potential anticancer agents has grown in recent years. Here, we synthesized the osmium(VI) nitrido complex Na[OsVI(N)(tpm)2] (tpm = [5-(Thien-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-3-yl]methanol), which exhibited a greater inhibitory effect on the cell viabilities of the cervical, ovarian, and breast cancer cell lines compared with cisplatin. Proteomics analysis revealed that Na[OsVI(N)(tpm)2] modulates the expression of protein-transportation-associated, DNA-metabolism-associated, and oxidative-stress-associated proteins in HepG2 cells. Perturbation of protein expression activity by the complex in cancer cells affects the functions of the mitochondria, resulting in high levels of cellular oxidative stress and low rates of cell survival. Moreover, it caused G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and caspase-mediated apoptosis of HepG2 cells. This study reveals a new high-valent osmium complex as an anticancer agent candidate modulating protein homeostasis.

Abstract Cyathulae Radix (CR), also known as “Chuanniux” is a well-known traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has been used in China for thousands of years. The present work reviewed advances in traditional uses, origin, chemical constituents, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity studies of CR. This work aims to provide more up-to-date references for modern study and application of this plant. Furthermore, the possible trends and perspectives for future research of this plant are also discussed. In China, the roots of CR have been widely used in clinical practice to treat orthopedic, gynecological, and urologic diseases. Currently, over 59 compounds have been isolated and identified from CR, including alkaloids and flavonoids. The extracts and compounds from CR have many pharmacological activities both in vivo and in vitro. They provide beneficial effects on the hematological system and anti-inflammatory properties. However, few studies have investigated the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of CR. Further studies should be undertaken to investigate the clinical effects, toxic constituents, and pharmacokinetics of CR; perform quality evaluation; and establish quality criteria for processed C. officinalis. Furthermore, studying the changes of raw and processed CR and the variety of this plant between different cultivated areas and cultivars will be interesting.

Early mammal gut microorganism colonization affects host health, the feed conversion rate, and production performance. Herein, we explored how fecal microbiota develops and the interactions between microorganisms and nutrients. The lambs were separated from ewes at 7 days old, artificial feeding with milk replacer completely replaced lactation, and the starter diet was added. At 21 days old, the lambs were fed with complete starter and milk replacer was stopped. At day 7, 21, 35, and 49 after birth, fecal samples were collected. Then 16S rRNA gene sequencing in the fecal samples revealed that the alpha diversity increased significantly with age. Principal coordinates analysis showed clear clustering by age (p < 0.05). At the genus level, the relative abundance of 8 genera declined, 12 genera increased (p < 0.1), and 4 genera changed dramatically with age (p < 0.05). The apparent digestibility of dry matter, protein, fat, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber significantly decreased by 21.77%, 23.15%, 23.62%, 19.38%, and 45.24%, respectively, from 7 to 35 days of age (p < 0.05), but not thereafter (p > 0.05). Fecal nutrient contents affected the abundance of bacterial genera (p < 0.05). Enterobacteriaceae_unclassified, Clostridium XlVb, Bifidobacterium, and other genera had no relationship with the fecal nutrient content; however, they were closely related to nutrient intake and digestibility, possibly promoting nutrient digestion. Our results suggested that nutrient digestion of young lambs changed rapidly, which was closely related to intestinal microbial colonization.

The erosion of soluble rock and transformation of groundwater result in the high irregularity of cavities in tunnel. At present, however, karst cavities are mainly simplified as circular, rectangular, or elliptical shape in the numerical simulation. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new method to analyze the stability of irregular cavities. First of all, we used the drilling laser scanning method to reconstruct the three-dimensional point clouds model of irregular cavities. Furthermore, we proposed the method of determining the point density to reduce the computational error under the premise of ensuring the accuracy in engineering scale. We also developed the Geomagic-COMSOL coupling numerical method to conduct the stability analysis of irregular cavities. The results demonstrated that the geometrical shape of karst cavities has great effects on the deformation and mechanical properties of the surrounding rock. The displacement and equivalent plastic strain of simplified cavities exhibited symmetric characteristics, while those of irregular cavities are highly randomly distributed. We noted that a greater displacement value and more intensive plastic strain can be triggered by irregular cavities shape, compared with the simplified cavity shape. The results also showed that the larger displacement occurred at the long-edge part, while the plastic zone was concentrated at the sharp turning angle of the irregular cavities.

The Xiashan landslide, which is classified as a typical basalt platform landslide, is the most massive landslide in Zhejiang Province, China. Once sliding occurs, it will pose a severe threat to the life and property of downstream residents and the nearby section of Hangzhou-Taizhou Expressway. On the basis of the geological conditions, present situation, and latest monitoring data of the landslide, this study finds that rainfall is the main influencing factor, and the creep mode is the main prediction mode of its subsequent deformation. The rainfall statistics of the landslide area in the past 30 years show that the rainfall and rainfall frequency in the landslide area display an increasing trend. The probability of heavy rain with rainfall intensity of 100–250 mm/day in the landslide area is very high. On this basis, combined with the numerical analysis method, a finite element model of the slope considering rainfall and groundwater conditions is constructed to analyze the causes and failure mechanism of this landslide comprehensively. Results indicate that the maximum tensile stress at the top of the trailing edge under the natural state is 5.10 MPa, which is very close to the saturated tensile strength of rock mass. Thus, tensile cracks are easily generated and developed, thereby causing the failure mode to be the hydraulic driving type. Also, with the increase in rainfall intensity, the slope plastic strain increases and the slope plastic zone develops and extends until it is completely penetrated. When the rainfall intensity is more than 200 mm/day, the slope safety factor is close to unity, and the slope approaches a failure condition. Therefore, the landslide should be controlled through water treatment and integrated with engineering measures.

With the rapid development of rail transit in China, the number and scale of underground engineering construction have increased significantly, and a large amount of shield muck has been generated, which has brought great challenges to the urban environment. The reuse of shield muck has become an important research direction in underground engineering construction. In this paper, a nonsintered brick is prepared with shield muck soil as the matrix. The influence of different doping amounts of lime, fly ash, cement, and polyvinyl alcohol on porosity, density, water absorption, saturation coefficient, compressive strength, and other properties was explored to realize the resource utilization of shield dregs and at the same time obtain excellent performance nonsintered bricks. Through research, it is found that when the lime doping amount is 10% and the cement doping amount is 5%, with the increase of the fly ash doping amount, the overall compressive strength increases significantly, and the maximum compressive strength can reach 13.69 MPa. Although the doping of trace amounts of polyvinyl alcohol reduces the compressive strength, it can significantly reduce the compressive strength and mass loss rate after 15 freeze-thaw cycles.

Epidemiological studies showed that the metabolic syndromes (MetS) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are responsible for a serious threat to human health worldwide. MetS is a syndromes characterized by fat metabolism disorder, obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance and other risk factors, which increases the risk of CVDs initiation and development. Although certain drugs play a role in lowering blood sugar and lipid, some side effects also occur. Considering the multiple pathogenesis, a great deal of natural products have been attempted to treat metabolic syndromes. Ginsenosides, as the active components isolated from Panax ginseng C.A.Mey, have been reported to have therapeutic effects on MetS and CVDs, of which pharmacological mechanisms were further studied as well. This review aims to systematically summarize current pharmacological effects of ginsenosides on MetS and CVDs, potential mechanisms and clinic trials, which will greatly contribute to the development of potential agents for related disease treatment.

Zanthoxyli Pericarpium (ZP) are the dried ripe peel of Zanthoxylum schinifolium Sieb. et Zucc (ZC) or Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim (ZB). It has wide range of uses both medicine and food, and favorable market value. The diverse specifications of components of ZP is exceptional, and the common aims of adulteration for economic profit is conducted. In this work, a novel method for the identification different species of ZP is proposed using convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The data used for the experiment is 5 classes obtained from camera and mobile phones. Firstly, the data considering 2 categories are trained to detect the labels by YOLO. Then, the multiple deep learning including VGG, ResNet, Inception v4, and DenseNet are introduced to identify the different species of ZP (HZB, DZB, OZB, ZA and JZC). In order to assess the performance of CNNs, compared with two traditional identification models including Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Back Propagation (BP). The experimental results demonstrate that the CNN model have a better performance to identify different species of ZP and the highest identification accuracy is 99.35%. The present study is proved to be a useful strategy for the discrimination of different traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs).

The influence of size effect on the hydromechanical behavior of rock mass has long been recognized. As a result, analysis of the rock mass size effect has been developed. However, when conducting size effect studies, the representativeness of the sample is less considered. Therefore, combining the existing statistical methods and sampling methods, a comprehensive representative sampling method for rock mass is present. In this method, a large number of sample statistics of different sizes are provided in the progressive coverage method; then, the plane density of the track length is defined as the value of stratification to perform stratified sampling for representative samples. Furthermore, it is applied to a joint network model generated in accordance with the actual situation and compared with those of other methods. The sampling results show that the proposed method can provide a certain reference value for studying the scale-dependent behavior of rock mass mechanical parameters.

Abstract. Phosphatase of regenerating liver 3 (PRL3) promotes colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis by inducing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), the opposite of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, has been proposed as a mechanism for the establishment of metastatic neoplasms. However, the molecular mechanism of MET remains unclear. Here, we show that miR-203a-3p derived from hepatocyte exosomes inhibits Src expression, reduces epidermal growth factor receptor activity and downstream signaling pathways, and increases E-cadherin expression, which is a typical mesenchymal cell marker of MET, in CRC cells. These results show the important role of epidermal growth factor receptor in CRC cell MET.

In the original publication of this article [1], the English official name of the affiliation 1 has been changed to “Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610072, China”.