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Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT) on weight, body composition, blood lipid indicators, and metabolic status in college students living with obesity. The study focused on a sample of 40 college students living with obesity, including 20 males and 20 females, aged between 18 and 25. Participants were randomly assigned to either the HIIT group or the MICT group. Both groups underwent an 8-week intervention, consisting of three sessions per week with alternate-day training. The MICT group's training consisted of continuous aerobic exercise for 35 min at 60–70% of maximum heart rate. The HIIT group engaged in 28 min of alternating high-intensity and low-intensity exercise, where the high-intensity phase was at 85–90% of maximum heart rate for 4 min, followed by a 3-min recovery period at 50–60% of maximum heart rate, repeated four times. Both groups underwent heart rate monitoring before and after the training sessions to ensure the accuracy of the training intensity. Within each group, further distinctions were made based on gender, resulting in the following subgroups: Male HIIT group (n = 10), Female HIIT group (n = 10), Male MICT group (n = 10), and Female MICT group (n = 10). Differences in anthropometric and biochemical indicators among the groups were analyzed, and the different effects of the two intervention strategies on the obese college student population were comprehensively evaluated. Compared to the baseline assessment, the HIIT group showed a more favorable declining trend than the MICT group in terms of body morphology and body composition, particularly in the aspect of body fat percentage (BF%). The male HIIT group, female HIIT group, male MICT group, and female MICT group respectively reduced by − 23.71%, − 26.76%, − 9.81%, − 7.16%. Male and female HIIT group experienced a more pronounced decrease compared to the MICT group, with the female HIIT group reducing an additional 3.75% more than the male HIIT group. Regarding intergroup differences, BF% significant differences were shown between male MICT group and the HIIT group (P

Biomass-related airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an important risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Macrophage polarization has been reported to be involved in PM2.5-induced COPD, but the dynamic characteristics and underlying mechanism of this process remain unclear. Our study established a PM2.5-induced COPD mouse model and revealed that M2 macrophages predominantly presented after 4 and 6 months of PM2.5 exposure, during which a notable increase in MMP12 was observed. Single cell analysis of lung tissues from COPD patients and mice further revealed that M2 macrophages were the dominant macrophage subpopulation in COPD, with MMP12 being involved as a hub gene. In vitro experiments further demonstrated that PM2.5 induced M2 polarization and increased MMP12 expression. Moreover, we found that PM2.5 increased IL-4 expression, STAT6 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation. Nuclear pSTAT6 then bound to the MMP12 promoter region. Furthermore, the inhibition of STAT6 phosphorylation effectively abrogated the PM2.5-induced increase in MMP12. Using a coculture system, we observed a significantly reduced level of E-cadherin in alveolar epithelial cells cocultured with PM2.5-exposed macrophages, while the decrease in E-cadherin was reversed by the addition of an MMP12 inhibitor to the co-culture system. Taken together, these findings indicated that PM2.5 induced M2 macrophage polarization and MMP12 upregulation via the IL-4/STAT6 pathway, which resulted in alveolar epithelial barrier dysfunction and excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, and ultimately led to COPD progression. These findings may help to elucidate the role of macrophages in COPD, and suggest promising directions for potential therapeutic strategies.

This study examined the synergistic effects of combining Rhodiola rosea (RHO) and caffeine (CAF) supplementation on muscle endurance and explosiveness in SD rats and human subjects, encompassing individuals without prior exercise training experience and seasoned aerobic athletes. Male SD rats and healthy human volunteers were randomly divided into four groups: CAF, RHO, CAF + RHO, and a control group (CTR). Nutritional supplements were administered throughout the training period, and pre-and post-measurement data were collected. In both the rat model and human subjects, the RHO+CAF group demonstrated significantly greater effects compared to the use of RHO or CAF supplements individually. Rats in the RHO+CAF group demonstrated extended running and swimming times and an increase in erythropoietin (EPO) mRNA expression in comparison to the CTR. Blood parameters, such as serum EPO levels, were enhanced in the CAF + RHO group, while blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and lactate (LA) levels significantly decreased in both the RHO and CAF + RHO groups. Hepatic and muscle glycogen contents were also higher in these groups. The gene expression analysis in rats demonstrated an elevation in the mRNA levels of glucose transporter-4 (GLUT-4), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α), Monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT-1), and Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in both the RHO and RHO+CAF groups. For individuals without prior aerobic training experience, the RHO+CAF group showed significant improvements compared to the CTR group in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), 5 km run, countermovement jump (CMJ), standing long jump, and 30 m sprint. For individuals with years of aerobic training experience, the RHO+CAF group exhibited enhanced performance in the 5 km run, CMJ, and standing long jump compared to the CTR group. In conclusion, the continuous 30 days supplementation of RHO, combined with a single dose of CAF, demonstrated superior effects on muscle endurance and explosiveness in both animal and human studies when compared to the use of RHO or CAF individually.

Microencapsulated sodium butyrate (MS-SB) is an effective sodium butyrate additive which can reduce the release of sodium butyrate (SB) in the fore gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we assess the protective effects and mechanisms of MS-SB in Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens)-challenged broilers. Broiler chickens were pre-treated with SB or MS-SB for 56 days and then challenged with C. perfringens three times. Our results indicate that the addition of MS-SB or SB before C. perfringens infection significantly decreased the thymus index (p < 0.05). Serum IgA, IgY, and IgM concentrations were significantly increased (p < 0.05), while pro-inflammatory IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) under MS-SB or SB supplementation. Compared with SB, MS-SB presented a stronger performance, with higher IgA content, as well as a lower IL-1β level when normal or C. perfringens-challenged. While C. perfringens challenge significantly decreased the villus height (p < 0.05), MS-SB or SB administration significantly increased the villus height and villus height/crypt depth (V/C ratio) (p < 0.05). Varying degrees of SB or MS-SB increased the concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) during C. perfringens challenge, where MS-SB presented a stronger performance, as evidenced by the higher content of isovaleric acid and valeric acid. Microbial analysis demonstrated that both SB or MS-SB addition and C. perfringens infection increase variation in the microbiota community. The results also indicate that the proportions of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Clostridia, Ruminococcaceae, Alistipes, and Clostridia were significantly higher in the MS-SB addition group while, at same time, C. perfringens infection increased the abundance of Bacteroides and Alistipes. In summary, dietary supplementation with SB or MS-SB improves the immune status and morphology of intestinal villi, increases the production of VFAs, and modulates cecal microbiota in chickens challenged with C. perfringens. Moreover, MS-SB was more effective than SB with the same supplemental amount.

Abstract Background Particular matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is one of the most important air pollutant, and it is positively associated with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the precise underlying mechanisms through which PM2.5 promotes the development of COPD remains largely unknown. Methods Mouse alveolar destruction were determined by histological analysis of lung tissues and lung function test. Alveolar type II cells (AT2) to alveolar type I cells (AT1) transition in PM2.5-induced COPD mouse model was confirmed via immunofluorescence staining and qPCR analysis. The differentially expressed genes in PM2.5-induced COPD mouse model were identified by RNA-sequencing of alveolar epithelial organoids and generated by bioinformatics analysis. Results In this study, we found that 6 months exposure of PM2.5 induced a significantly decreased pulmonary compliance and resulted in pulmonary emphysema in mice. We showed that PM2.5 exposure significantly reduced the AT2 to AT1 cell transition in vitro and in vivo. In addition, we found a reduced expression of the intermediate AT2-AT1 cell process marker claudin 4 (CLDN4) at day 4 of differentiation in mouse alveolar organoids treated with PM2.5, suggesting that PM2.5 exposure inhibited AT2 cells from entering the transdifferentiation process. RNA-sequencing of mouse alveolar organoids showed that several key signaling pathways that involved in the AT2 to AT1 cell transition were significantly altered including the Wnt signaling, MAPK signaling and signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells following PM2.5 exposure. Conclusions In summary, these data demonstrate a critical role of AT2 to AT1 cell transition in PM2.5-induced COPD mouse model and reveal the signaling pathways that potentially regulate AT2 to AT1 cell transition during this process. Our findings therefore advance the current knowledge of PM2.5-induced COPD and may lead to a novel therapeutic strategy to treat this disease.

A complex surface measurement is important for quality control and manufacturing processes. Articulated arm coordinate measuring machines (AACMMs) are widely used in measuring the complex surface. However, the AACMMs that are currently used always require manual operation, which reduces efficiency and introduces operator errors. This study presents a measuring device with a 6−DOF industrial robot holding a contact probe, which realizes the automation measurement of a complex surface and eliminates operator errors compared with the traditional measurement process of an AACMM. In order to explore the source of the measuring errors of the device, the influence of three measurement parameters (approaching velocity, contact angle, and measurement position) on the measurement error of the device is analyzed in this paper. A calibration ball measurement experiment is conducted for each parameter. The results show that the optimal approaching velocity of the measuring device is around 2 mm/s, the probe should be as perpendicular as possible to the surface being measured during the measurement, and the maximum measurement error at different positions is 0.1979 mm, with a maximum repeatability error of 0.0219 mm. This study will help improve the automation measuring errors of the AACMM by utilizing an industrial robot to hold the probe, pushing for a wider application of the AACMM.

A delayed Lotka-Volterra predator-prey system with time delayed feedback is studied by using the theory of functional differential equation and Hassard’s method. By choosing appropriate control parameter, we investigate the existence of Hopf bifurcation. An explicit algorithm is given to determine the directions and stabilities of the bifurcating periodic solutions. We find that these control laws can be applied to control Hopf bifurcation and chaotic attractor. Finally, some numerical simulations are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the results found.

The strategies adopted by China to develop its electric power generation systems since 2002 are evaluated.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT) on weight, body composition, blood lipid indicators, and metabolic status in college students living with obesity. The study focused on a sample of 40 college students living with obesity, including 20 males and 20 females, aged between 18 and 25. Participants were randomly assigned to either the HIIT group or the MICT group. Both groups underwent an 8-week intervention, consisting of three sessions per week with alternate-day training. The MICT group's training consisted of continuous aerobic exercise for 35 min at 60–70% of maximum heart rate. The HIIT group engaged in 28 min of alternating high-intensity and low-intensity exercise, where the high-intensity phase was at 85–90% of maximum heart rate for 4 min, followed by a 3-min recovery period at 50–60% of maximum heart rate, repeated four times. Both groups underwent heart rate monitoring before and after the training sessions to ensure the accuracy of the training intensity. Within each group, further distinctions were made based on gender, resulting in the following subgroups: Male HIIT group (n = 10), Female HIIT group (n = 10), Male MICT group (n = 10), and Female MICT group (n = 10). Differences in anthropometric and biochemical indicators among the groups were analyzed, and the different effects of the two intervention strategies on the obese college student population were comprehensively evaluated. Compared to the baseline assessment, the HIIT group showed a more favorable declining trend than the MICT group in terms of body morphology and body composition, particularly in the aspect of body fat percentage (BF%). The male HIIT group, female HIIT group, male MICT group, and female MICT group respectively reduced by − 23.71%, − 26.76%, − 9.81%, − 7.16%. Male and female HIIT group experienced a more pronounced decrease compared to the MICT group, with the female HIIT group reducing an additional 3.75% more than the male HIIT group. Regarding intergroup differences, BF% significant differences were shown between male MICT group and the HIIT group (P < 0.05), and female MICT group and the HIIT group (P < 0.01). In terms of biochemical indicators, the HIIT group also presented a more favorable declining trend compared to the MICT group, with male HIIT participants showing more reduction than female HIIT participants, especially in total cholesterol (TC) (10.64%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (11.73%), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (11.99%), and uric acid (UA) (11.76%). Regarding triglycerides (TG), significant intergroup differences were observed between male MICT and HIIT groups (P < 0.01) and female MICT and HIIT groups (P < 0.01). Concerning ALT, a significant difference was shown between female MICT and HIIT groups (P < 0.01), while no significant difference was observed among male participants. Overall, for college students living with obesity, both HIIT and MICT have shown positive effects. Among these, HIIT demonstrates greater effectiveness compared to MICT in BF% and biochemical markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Necrotic enteritis is an enterotoxemic disease caused by Clostridium perfringens, leading to diarrhea or necrotizing lesions in the intestines of animals, with severe cases leading to death. The butyrate attenuated the inflammatory response and improved intestinal health in piglets challenged with pathogenic bacteria, but it was absorbed by the anterior segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Microencapsulation is a simple and effective method to prevent butyrate from absorption. Thus, we evaluate the effectiveness to two butyrate alleviates clostridium perfringens infections. Our results indicate that dietary supplementation with sodium butyrate or microencapsulated sodium butyrate improves the immune status and morphology of intestinal villi, increases the production of VFAs, and modulates cecal microbiota in chickens challenged with Clostridium perfringens. Moreover, microencapsulated sodium butyrate contains less butyrate than sodium butyrate. These findings indicate that microencapsulated sodium butyrate was more effective than sodium butyrate with the same butyrate supplemental amount. Microencapsulated sodium butyrate (MS-SB) is an effective sodium butyrate additive which can reduce the release of sodium butyrate (SB) in the fore gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we assess the protective effects and mechanisms of MS-SB in Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens)-challenged broilers. Broiler chickens were pre-treated with SB or MS-SB for 56 days and then challenged with C. perfringens three times. Our results indicate that the addition of MS-SB or SB before C. perfringens infection significantly decreased the thymus index (p < 0.05). Serum IgA, IgY, and IgM concentrations were significantly increased (p < 0.05), while pro-inflammatory IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) under MS-SB or SB supplementation. Compared with SB, MS-SB presented a stronger performance, with higher IgA content, as well as a lower IL-1β level when normal or C. perfringens-challenged. While C. perfringens challenge significantly decreased the villus height (p < 0.05), MS-SB or SB administration significantly increased the villus height and villus height/crypt depth (V/C ratio) (p < 0.05). Varying degrees of SB or MS-SB increased the concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) during C. perfringens challenge, where MS-SB presented a stronger performance, as evidenced by the higher content of isovaleric acid and valeric acid. Microbial analysis demonstrated that both SB or MS-SB addition and C. perfringens infection increase variation in the microbiota community. The results also indicate that the proportions of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Clostridia, Ruminococcaceae, Alistipes, and Clostridia were significantly higher in the MS-SB addition group while, at same time, C. perfringens infection increased the abundance of Bacteroides and Alistipes. In summary, dietary supplementation with SB or MS-SB improves the immune status and morphology of intestinal villi, increases the production of VFAs, and modulates cecal microbiota in chickens challenged with C. perfringens. Moreover, MS-SB was more effective than SB with the same supplemental amount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To utilize multiple features for clustering, this paper proposes a novel method named as multiview nonnegative matrix factorization with dual HSIC constraints for clustering. The Hilbert-Schmidt independence criterion (HSIC) is employed to measure the correlation(including linear and nonlinear correlation) between the latent representation of each view and the common ones (representation constraint). The independence among the vectors of the basis matrix for each view (basis constraint) is maximized to pursue the discriminant and informative basis. To maintain the nonlinear structure of multiview data, we directly optimize the kernel of the common representation and make its values of the same neighborhood are larger than the others. We adopt partition entropy to constrain the uniformity level of the its values. A novel iterative update algorithm is designed to seek the optimal solutions. We extensively test the proposed algorithm and several state-of-the-art NMF-based multiview methods on four datasets. The clustering results validate the effectiveness of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A complex surface measurement is important for quality control and manufacturing processes. Articulated arm coordinate measuring machines (AACMMs) are widely used in measuring the complex surface. However, the AACMMs that are currently used always require manual operation, which reduces efficiency and introduces operator errors. This study presents a measuring device with a 6−DOF industrial robot holding a contact probe, which realizes the automation measurement of a complex surface and eliminates operator errors compared with the traditional measurement process of an AACMM. In order to explore the source of the measuring errors of the device, the influence of three measurement parameters (approaching velocity, contact angle, and measurement position) on the measurement error of the device is analyzed in this paper. A calibration ball measurement experiment is conducted for each parameter. The results show that the optimal approaching velocity of the measuring device is around 2 mm/s, the probe should be as perpendicular as possible to the surface being measured during the measurement, and the maximum measurement error at different positions is 0.1979 mm, with a maximum repeatability error of 0.0219 mm. This study will help improve the automation measuring errors of the AACMM by utilizing an industrial robot to hold the probe, pushing for a wider application of the AACMM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Particular matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is one of the most important air pollutant, and it is positively associated with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the precise underlying mechanisms through which PM2.5 promotes the development of COPD remains largely unknown.Methods: Mouse alveolar destruction were determined by histological analysis of lung tissues and lung function test. Alveolar type II cells (AT2) to alveolar type I cells (AT1) transition in PM2.5-induced COPD mouse model was confirmed via immunofluorescence staining and qPCR analysis. The differentially expressed genes in PM2.5-induced COPD mouse model were identified by RNA-sequencing of alveolar epithelial organoids and generated by bioinformatics analysis.Results: In this study, we found that 6 months exposure of PM2.5 induced a significantly decreased pulmonary compliance and resulted in pulmonary emphysema in mice. We showed that PM2.5 exposure significantly reduced the AT2 to AT1 cell transition in vitro and in vivo. In addition, we found a reduced expression of the intermediate AT2-AT1 cell process marker claudin 4 (CLDN4) at day 4 of differentiation in mouse alveolar organoids treated with PM2.5, suggesting that PM2.5 exposure inhibited AT2 cells from entering the transdifferentiation process. RNA-sequencing of mouse alveolar organoids showed that several key signaling pathways that involved in the AT2 to AT1 cell transition were significantly altered including the Wnt signaling, MAPK signaling and signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells following PM2.5 exposure.Conclusions: In summary, these data demonstrate a critical role of AT2 to AT1 cell transition in PM2.5-induced COPD mouse model and reveal the signaling pathways that potentially regulate AT2 to AT1 cell transition during this process. Our findings therefore advance the current knowledge of PM2.5-induced COPD and may lead to a novel therapeutic strategy to treat this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper studies the problem of finite-time H ∞ control for switched nonlinear systems (SNSs), where the powers of chained integrators associated with individual subsystems can be different positive odd rational numbers from each other. First, the notion of finite-time H ∞ for switched systems, as a performance index, is introduced. Contrary to the classical H ∞ control, finite-time stability rather than asymptotic stability or practical stability needs to be satisfied in the finite-time H ∞ control. Moreover, based on the method of multiple Lyapunov functions (MLFs) and the technique of adding a power integrator, a sufficient condition guaranteeing the solvability of the finite-time H ∞ control problem for the system under consideration is derived via a designed switching law, where there is no subsystem whose corresponding control problem must be solvable. Finally, the effectiveness of the provided control strategy is demonstrated via a simulation example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the issue of robust stabilisation for a class of state-constrained high-order switched nonlinear systems whose subsystems are allowed to be all unstabilizable. A novel robust control scheme is established based on effective coupling of the technique of adding a power integrator and the method of multiple barrier Lyapunov functions. Explicitly, a sufficient condition for robustly stabilising the resulting closed-loop system in a domain is presented, which meanwhile can also guarantee that the violation of the constraints does not happen. Moreover, in the switching law design, we do not require the connection of barrier Lyapunov functions for two adjacent subsystems, and even a certain amount of jump is also allowed. Finally, the effectiveness of the provided control strategy is demonstrated via a simulation example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 75-y-old Chinese female patient diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma with brain metastasis suffered severe nausea and vomiting, and these symptoms were contraindications for CyberKnife treatment. Neither mannitol, nor dexamethasone, relieved the symptoms. However, after the patient received a single dose of bevacizumab (200 mg, 2.9 mg/kg), the patient's symptoms were significantly relieved. The patient subsequently completed a successful CyberKnife treatment. In addition, the patient received an oral treatment of gefitinib. At 15 months post treatment, the patient's brain tumor was controlled. Thus, administration of bevacizumab at a low dose (2.9 mg/kg) may significantly alleviate peri-tumoral brain edema and its symptoms, thereby facilitating radiosurgery treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper addresses the issue of the adaptive output tracking control for switched nonlinear systems with uncertain parameters. The solvability of the tracking control problem for each subsystem is not necessary to hold. Individual update laws corresponding to different unknown parameters are adopted to reduce the conservativeness produced from the adoption of a common undated law. By means of the dual design of the adaptive controllers and a state‐dependent switching law using multiple storage functions technique, several conditions are obtained under which the adaptive output tracking control problem for switched nonlinear systems is solvable. Finally, an example shows the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]