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ABSTRACT To effectively develop and utilize high-quality Tianfu broilers, this study evaluated the morphological and structural characteristics of the immune organs of such broilers with different strains (HS1 and HS2) at different developmental stages and analyzed the distribution of mast cells by toluidine blue staining. Moreover, the localization and expression of immunoglobulin, complement C3, C4 and CD3 in immune organs were also detected. The results showed that although there was no significant difference in the development of immune organs in the HS1 and HS2, the number of lymphatic follicles and capsule thickness in the spleen and bursa of Fabricius in HS1 were greater than those in HS2. Additionally, the number of mast cells in the spleen of HS1 was greater at Day 1 and Day 21 and was significantly higher than that of HS2 (p

Purpose Compared and analyzed the MRI imaging features of brain invasion otherwise benign (BIOB) meningiomas and WHO grade 1, grade 2 meningiomas, discussed the WHO grading of BIOB from the perspective of imaging. Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 675 meningiomas patients who carried on MRI examination from January 2006 to February 2022. Setting the 2022 Central nervous system (CNS) WHO Guidelines as the gold standard for pathological diagnosis. Statistical analysis of age, gender, and MRI features of meningiomas in relation to WHO grade and brain invasion. Results Among 675 cases meningiomas, 543 (80.4%) were WHO grade 1, 123 (18.2%) were WHO grade 2, and 9 (1.3%) were WHO grade 3. There were 108 cases meningiomas with brain invasion (BI) (16.0%) and 567 cases without BI (84.0%). Among BI cases, 67 cases were BIOB. Compared the MRI features between BIOB and WHO grade 1 meningiomas, multivariate analysis demonstrated that the most strongly factors associated with distinguish them were enhancement degree, peritumoral edema, tumor–brain interface, fingerlike protrusion, mushroom sign, and bone invasion (AUC: 0.925 (0.901∼0.945), sensitivity: 0.925, specificity: 0.801). Compared the MRI features between BIOB and WHO grade 2 meningiomas, multivariate analysis demonstrated that the most strongly factors associated with distinguish them were enhancement degree and the tumor–brain interface (AUC: 0.779 (0.686∼0.841), sensitivity: 0.746, specificity: 0.732), their efficacy was slightly weaker. Conclusions BIOB is more similar to WHO grade 2 meningiomas in clinical and imaging features than WHO grade 1, so we think that it may be reasonable to classify BIOB as WHO Grade 2 meningiomas in the guidelines.

Compared with traditional dyes, structural color has been studied widely due to several outstanding advantages. When choosing structural color materials, both metal and dielectric materials have great potential, however compared with metal, dielectric material have the characteristics of low cost and low loss, so been studied widely. At present, the design of metasurface structural color based on dielectric materials is mostly carried out by manually adjusting parameters. Although good results can achieved by this method, but the design cycle is too long and the method is not smart enough, which is not conducive to industrial design. In this article, we proposed a combination of intelligent algorithms and finite domain time domain solution, and designed matesurface structural color successfully that can reflect high-quality colors. The reflection peak value of the RGB colors reached 90%, 82.2%, 45.8% respectively, also accompany with narrow FWHM, the designed structural color has strong robustness and method reusability, meanwhile, our work provides a novel way for the design of reflective structural color.

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effects of adding Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MOLP) to the basal diets of chickens at late laying period on clutch trait, reproductive organs, serum reproductive hormones and reproduction-related genes expression. A total of 350 hens (37 weeks old) with similar laying rate and clutch trait were randomly allocated into five groups, and fed 0 (Control, CON), 2.5 (MOLP2.5), 5, 7.5 and 10% MOLP supplemented diets for 6 weeks. The hens supplemented with 2.5% MLOP had the average clutch length, clutches and clutch intensity close to those in CON. The numbers and weight of hierarchal follicle were significantly increased at the supplementation 2.5% MOLP group. The estrogen concentration was highest in MOLP2.5 group and lowest in MOLP10 group. Expression levels of steroidogenesis-related genes of StAR and Cyp19a1 were higher in MOLP2.5, MOLP5 and MOLP7.5 groups compared with that in the control. These findings suggested that dietary supplementation with 2.5% MOLP effectively increased hierarchal follicle numbers, estrogen level and gene expression of StAR and Cyp19a1, which has a potential beneficial effect on laying performance in laying chicken.

ABSTRACT The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene plays a key role in controlling the deposition of melanin. In mammals, the MC1Rgene is regarded as a major candidate gene in the control of melanin formation. In domestic animals, the MC1R gene mainly controls the expression of coat, skin, and plumage color in mammals and birds. In order to breed chickens with dark-green shank faster, we screened the molecular markers for shank color in a HS chicken population by exploring the relationship between polymorphism of the MC1R gene and three different shank colors (light green, dark green and yellow). Two primer pairs for code region of the MC1R gene were designed in the basic of chicken genomic sequence. DNA sequencing was performed to detect the polymorphisms and PCR was used to amplify DNA fragment. Sequences analysis indicated that 7 SNPs were predominant the three HS chicken populations with different shank color, including g.18,287,945C>T, g.18,288,088T>C, g.18,288,150G>A, g.18,288,303A>G, g.18,288,512G>A, g.18,288,513T>C, and g.18,288,520A>C. Association analysis revealed that the dark-green shank population showed moderate polymorphism, whereas the light-green shank population showed low polymorphism among overall 7 SNPs and that SNP6 (g.18,288,513T>C) may be significantly associated with three different shank colors in HS chickens. The haplotype CTGGACA had the largest haplotype frequencies, accounting for 56.22%, and the haplotype combination H1H1 is mainly distributed in the dark-green shank population, and may be used as molecular maker for marker-assisted selection of shank color in HS chickens.

Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) constitute a unique group of cells endowed with multipotency, self-renewal, and capacity to regenerate the dental pulp tissue. While much has been learned about these cells in recent years, it is still unclear if each DPSC is multipotent or if unique sub-populations of DPSCs are “primed” to undergo specific differentiation paths. The purpose of the present study was to define whether a sub-population of DPSCs was uniquely primed to undergo vasculogenic differentiation. Permanent-tooth DPSCs or stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) were flow-sorted for vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) and exposed to vasculogenic differentiation medium, i.e., Microvascular-Endothelial-Cell-Growth-Medium-2-BulletKit™ supplemented with 50 ng/mL rhVEGF165 in the presence of 0 or 25 μg/mL anti-human VEGF antibody (bevacizumab; Genentech). In addition, sorted SHED (i.e., VEGFR1high or VEGFR1low) were seeded in biodegradable scaffolds and transplanted into the subcutaneous space of immunodeficient mice. Despite proliferating at a similar rate, VEGFR1high generated more in vitro sprouts than VEGFR1low cells (p < 0.05). Blockade of VEGF signaling with bevacizumab inhibited VEGFR1high-derived sprouts, demonstrating specificity of responses. Similarly, VEGFR1high SHED generated more blood vessels when transplanted into murine hosts than VEGFR1low cells (p < 0.05). Collectively, these data demonstrated that DPSCs contain a unique sub-population of cells defined by high VEGFR1 expression that are primed to differentiate into vascular endothelial cells. These data raise the possibility of purifying stem cells with high vasculogenic potential for regeneration of vascularized tissues or for vascular engineering in the treatment of ischemic conditions.

Metal halide perovskites attract significant interest due to their remarkable performance in optoelectronic devices. However, the gap in understanding the relationship between their nanoscale structure and properties limits their application towards novel devices. In this work, twinned ferroelastic domains in single 500 nm CsPbBr _3 particles are studied with 3D Bragg coherent x-ray diffraction imaging. A preferential double-domain structure is revealed in four identical particles, with one domain oriented along the [110] and the other along the [002] direction. The particles exhibit similar scattering volume ratios of 0.12 ± 0.026 between twin phases, suggesting the possibility of a deterministic formation process. The domains exhibit a difference in lattice tilt of 0.59 degrees, in excellent agreement with calculations of the lattice mismatch at the (112) twin boundary. These results provide important insights both for the fundamental understanding of ferroelastic nanoscale materials and for the performance improvement of perovskite-based devices. Moreover, this work paves the way towards real-time imaging of the domain dynamics in ferroic systems.

ABSTRACTThis experiment was conducted to evaluate the combination effect of low dietary non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) concentrations, phytase (PHY) levels, and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) levels on the growth performance and meat quality of broilers. Two levels of NPP, two levels of PHY, and two levels of 25-OH-D3 resulted in a 2�2�2 factorial arrangements, with eight treatments (TRT). The birds on TRT 1-4 were fed diet 1 (NRC NPP was reduced by 0.1) and the birds on TRT 5-8 were fed with diet 2 (NRC NPP was reduced by 0.2). Each diet was mixed with different levels PHY and 25-OH-D3. Performance and meat quality parameters were measured. Results showed that during entire experiment the most advantageous effects were obtained with TRT 3 (NRC NPP reduced by 0.1 + 600 U/kg phytase + 34.5�g/kg 25-OH-D3) and TRT 4 (NRC NPP reduced by 0.1 + 600 U/kg phytase + 69�g/kg 25-OH-D3). The lowest body weight gain (BWG) and feed intake(FI) were observed with TRT 5 (NRC NPP reduced by 0.2 + 300 U/kg phytase + 34.5�g/kg 25-OH-D3). Lowering NRC NPP by 0.1 to 0.2 significantly reduced weight gain (WG) (p< 0.05) and FI (p< 0.05) during the starter phase (ST), while during grower phase (GF) lowering NRC NPP by 0.1 to 0.2 did not affect WG (p>0.05) and produced small decrease in FI. BWG, FI and feed conversion ratio were not influenced (p>0.05) by different PHY or 25-OH-D3 levels. In addition, the meat color, pH, and shear force were not affected by the different NPP, PHY or 25-OH-D3levels.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of akermanite as compared to β-TCP on attachment, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and actin filament labeling were used to reveal attachment and growth of hPDLCs seeded on β-TCP and akermanite ceramic. Cell proliferation was tested by lactic acid production and MTT analysis, while osteogenic differentiation was assayed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis on markers of osteopontin (OPN), dentin matrix acidic phosphoprotein-1 (DMP-1), and osteocalcin (OCN), and further detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent analysis (ELISA) analysis for OCN expression. Besides, the ions released from akermanite and their effect on hPDLCs was also measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), MTT analysis, ALP expression and real-time PCR analysis. hPDLCs attached well on both ceramics, but showed better spreading on akermanite. hPDLCs proliferated more rapidly on akermanite than β-TCP. Importantly, osteogenic differentiation of hPDLCs was enhanced on akermanite compared to β-TCP. Besides, Ca, Mg and Si ions were released from akermanite, while only Ca ions were released from β-TCP. Moreover, more pronounced proliferation and higher osteogenic gene expression for hPDLCs cultured with akermanite extract were detected as compared to cells cultured on akermanite. Therefore, akermanite ceramic showed an enhanced effect on proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of hPDLCs, which might be attributed to the release of ions containing Ca, Mg and Si from the material. It is suggested that akermanite ceramics may serve as a potential material for periodontal bone regeneration.

Lp[a] concentrations in nmol/L and apo[a] size isoforms, expressed in terms of the relative number of apo[a] kringle 4 (K4) repeats, were determined in 3959 whites and blacks from four U.S. communities. Plasma Lp[a] analyses were performed by an ELISA method insensitive to apo[a] size heterogeneity and apo[a] size isoforms were determined by high resolution agarose gel electrophoresis. Allele frequencies were estimated by maximum likelihood methods in order to account for the presence of null alleles and coalescence of hands on gels. The apo[a] allele frequencies and phenotype distributions differed significantly between blacks and whites (P % 0.0001). Blacks had a higher relative frequency of the intermediate alleles K4(22) through K4(28) whereas whites had a higher relative frequency of the small alleles K4(17) through K4(24) and large alleles K4(29) through K4(33). The estimated frequency of the null allele was low in both blacks (1.0%) and whites (6.7%). The Lp[a] distribution was less skewed and Lp[a] concentrations were higher in blacks than whites (mean 94 nmol/L and 48 nmol/L, median 74 nmol/L and 20 nmol/L for blacks and whites, respectively). The relationship between apo[a] size and Lp[a] concentration also differed significantly between these two racial groups. For the large polymorphs (> 31 K4 repeats) both blacks and whites exhibited uniformly low Lp[a] values. For the intermediate isoforms K4(20) through K4(30), a considerable range of Lp[a] values was evident in blacks; the median Lp[a] for each isoform increased nearly linearly as the apo[a] size decreased. In contrast in whites there was little change in median Lp[a] concentrations for isoforms K4(20) through K4(30). For the small apo[a] size (< 20 K4) both blacks and whites exhibited high median Lp[a] levels and a wide variation of Lp[a] levels. The major difference in Lp[a] levels between the two racial groups occurred in the intermediate size isoform range of K4(20) through K4(25). In conclusion, whites and blacks differ significantly in Lp[a] concentrations, allele and phenotype frequencies, and in the relationship between apo[a] size isoform and Lp[a] concentration.

The strand displacement competition assay is based on the dynamic equilibrium of the competitive hybridization of two oligonucleotides (A and B) to a third oligonucleotide (S). In the presence of an analyte that binds to a specific affinity-moiety conjugated to strand B, the equilibrium shifts, which can be detected by a shift in the fluorescence resonance energy transfer signal between dyes attached to the DNA strands. In the present study we have integrated an ATP aptamer in the strand B and demonstrated the optical detection of ATP. Furthermore we explore a new readout method using a split G-quadruplex DNAzyme for colorimetric readout of the detection of streptavidin by the naked eye. Finally, we integrate the whole G-quadruplex DNAzyme system in a single DNA strand and show that it is applicable to colorimetric detection.

OBJECTIVE: To study the systemic production of inflammatory factors and activation of transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in response to different levels of intermittent hypoxia and time. METHODS: A total of 160 male Wistar rats were divided randomly into five groups. The first three groups were exposed to 5%, 7.5% and 10% intermittent hypoxia (referred to as IH-1, IH-2, and IH-3 respectively), the fourth group were subjected to 10% sustained hypoxia (abbreviated as SH), and the control group were exposed to normal oxygen (designated SC). At the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth week, eight rats in each group were sacrificed to collect serum. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum concentration of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10). Western blot was used to detect the protein levels of the phosphorylated NF-κB P65 in the nucleus of arterial endothelial cells. RESULTS: In all three IH groups serum levels of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-6 showed consecutive increment from onset to the 6th week under intermittent hypoxia; the levels of TNF-α and IL-8 dropped slightly on the 8th week, whereas those of IL-6 continued to increase. The levels of IL-10 decreased and reached nadir at the 6th week of intermittent hypoxia treatment. The inflammatory response was the most pronounced in the 6th week, at which time the TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-6 levels in IH groups were significantly higher than in the SC and SH group (F = 30.04, 11.77, 18.589; p

Quasi-static magnetic-fields up to 800 T are generated in the interaction of intense laser pulses (500 J, 1 ns, ${10}^{17}\;{\rm{W}}\;{\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}$ ) with capacitor-coil targets of different materials. The reproducible magnetic-field peak and rise-time, consistent with the laser pulse duration, were accurately inferred from measurements with GHz-bandwidth inductor pickup coils (B-dot probes). Results from Faraday rotation of polarized optical laser light and deflectometry of energetic proton beams are consistent with the B-dot probe measurements at the early stages of the target charging, up to $t\approx 0.35$ ns, and then are disturbed by radiation and plasma effects. The field has a dipole-like distribution over a characteristic volume of 1 mm ^3 , which is consistent with theoretical expectations. These results demonstrate a very efficient conversion of the laser energy into magnetic fields, thus establishing a robust laser-driven platform for reproducible, well characterized, generation of quasi-static magnetic fields at the kT-level, as well as for magnetization and accurate probing of high-energy-density samples driven by secondary powerful laser or particle beams.

We analyze the atom field-effect transistor scheme (Stickney et al 2007 Phys. Rev. A http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.75.013608 75 http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.75.013608 ) using the standard tools of quantum and classical nonequlilibrium dynamics. We first study the correspondence between the quantum and the mean-field descriptions of this system by computing, both ab initio and by using their mean-field analogs, the deviations from the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis, quantum fluctuations, and the density of states. We find that, as far as the quantities that interest us, the mean-field model can serve as a semi-classical emulator of the quantum system. Then, using the mean-field model, we interpret the point of maximal output signal in our transistor as the onset of ergodicity—the point where the system becomes, in principle, able to attain the thermal values of the former integrals of motion, albeit not being fully thermalized yet.

We introduce a new class of quantum many-particle entangled states, called the Dicke squeezed (or DS) states, which can be used to improve the precision in quantum metrology beyond the standard quantum limit. We show that the enhancement in measurement precision is characterized by a single experimentally detectable parameter, called the Dicke squeezing ${{\xi }_{D}}$ , which also bounds the entanglement depth for this class of states. The measurement precision approaches the ultimate Heisenberg limit as ${{\xi }_{D}}$ attains the minimum in an ideal Dicke state. Compared with other entangled states, we show that the DS states are more robust to decoherence and give better measurement precision under typical experimental noise.

We report new results from the intense laser target interaction experiment that produces relativistic electron–positron pairs. Laser to electron energy transfer, inferred using x-ray and neutron measurements, was found to be consistent with the measured positrons. To increase the number of positrons, one needs to deliver a greater number of relativistic electrons from the laser–plasma interaction to the high Z gold target. A large preplasma was found to have a negative impact for this purpose, while the laser could produce hotter electrons in such preplasma. The peak energy shift in the positron spectrum is confirmed as the post-acceleration in the sheath potential behind the target. The results were supported by a collisional one-dimensional particle-in-cell code. This experiment was performed using the high-power LFEX laser at the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University using a suite of diagnostics measuring electrons, positrons, x-rays and neutrons from the laser–target interaction at the relativistic regime.