Supplemental effects of different production methods of pine needle additives on growth performance, intestinal environment, meat quality and serum of broiler chickens.

OBJECTIVE: Pine needles are rich in many nutrients and exhibit antibacterial and antioxidant biological activities; however, the effects of different production methods of pine needle additives on the growth performance and intestinal flora of broiler chickens are not known. METHODS: Normal diets were supplemented with pine needle fermentation juice (PNF), pine needle soaking juice (PNS), or pine needle powder (PNP), and the associated effects on growth performance, relative organ weights, intestinal development, intestinal histological morphology, intestinal flora, meat quality, and serum indicators in broiler chickens were observed. RESULTS: The results showed that PNF, PNS, and PNP all significantly improved feed utilisation and promoted the growth and development of broilers. All three additives also significantly improved the structure of the intestinal flora, specifically increasing the diversity of bacteria; increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria, such as Faecalibacterium, Rikenella, and Blautia; and decreasing the abundance of harmful bacteria, such as Staphylococcus. The antioxidant properties of pine needles were also found to intensify lipid metabolic reactions in the blood, thus leading to lower triglycerides and total cholesterol. Meanwhile, high doses of PNF reduced jejunum and ileum weights and also increased meat yellowness. Lastly, none of PNF, PNS, or PNP had an effect on relative organ weights or intestinal histological morphology. CONCLUSION: The addition of pine needles to the diet of broiler chickens can effectively promote their growth performance as well as improve their intestinal flora and serum status without side effects; in particular, the dose of 0.2% of either PNF and PNS is expected to have the capacity to replace growth-promoting antibiotics as diet additives.

Molecular phylogeny and morphology of Sporodiniella sinensis sp. nov. (Syzygitaceae, Mucorales), an invertebrate-associated species from Yunnan, China.

During investigations of invertebrate-associated fungi in Yunnan Province of China, a new species, Sporodiniella sinensis sp. nov., was collected. Morphologically, S. sinensis is similar to Sporodiniella umbellata; however, it is distinguished from S. umbellata by its greater number of sporangiophore branches, longer sporangiophores, larger sporangiospores, and columellae. The novel species exhibits similarities of 91.62 % for internal transcribed spacer (ITS), 98.66-99.10 % for ribosomal small subunit (nrSSU), and 96.36-98.22 % for ribosomal large subunit (nrLSU) sequences, respectively, compared to S. umbellata. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses based on combined sequences of ITS, nrLSU and nrSSU show that it forms a separate clade in Sporodiniella, and clusters closely with S. umbellata with high statistical support. The phylogenetic and morphological evidence support S. sinensis as a distinct species. Here, it is formally described and illustrated, and compared with other relatives.

Responses of photosynthetic characteristics of Phragmites australis to simulated warming in salt marshes of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, China.

Coastal wetlands are highly efficient in blue carbon sequestration. The impacts of climate warming on photosynthetic rates and light response characteristics of wetland plants would change the magnitude of carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands. We constructed warming observation stations in Phragmites australis (Phragmites) wetlands located in the Yellow River Delta in Dongying with dry climate, and in Yancheng by the Yellow Sea with wet climate. By using a Li-6800 photosynthesis system, we investigated the responses of simulated warming on photosynthetic characteristics of Phragmites in both wetlands, and compared the difference between months (June and August) in Dongying wetland. The results showed the photosynthetic rates of Phragmites were higher in June than in August. Warming increased net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (gs) and intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci) in the two months, but the variability of Pn to warming was lower in August. The Pn and water use efficiency (WUE) of Phragmites in the Yancheng wetland were higher than Dongying wetland, and the maximum net photosynthetic rate (Pn max), light saturation point (LSP), apparent quantum efficiency (AQY), and dark respiration rate (Rd) of the former responded more positively to warming. The values of AQY, LSP and Pn max of Phragmites in the Yancheng wetlands were increased by 16.7%, 53.6% and 30.3%, respectively, in the warming plots. Our results suggested that warming could improve the utilization efficiency of weak light, the adaptability to strong light and photosynthetic potential of Phragmites under rainy and humid conditions. This study is of importance for accurately quantifying carbon sequestration of coastal wetlands at the regional and seasonal scales in the context of climate warming.

Programmed Release METTL3-14 Inhibitor Microneedle Protects Myocardial Function by Reducing Drp1 m6A Modification-Mediated Mitochondrial Fission.

M6A modification is an RNA-important processing event mediated by methyltransferases METTL3 and METTL14 and the demethylases. M6A dynamic changes after myocardial infarction (MI), involved in the massive loss of cardiomyocytes due to hypoxia, as well as the recruitment and activation of myofibroblasts. Balanced mitochondrial fusion and fission are essential to maintain intracardiac homeostasis and reduce poststress myocardial remodeling. Double-layer programmed drug release microneedle (DPDMN) breaks the limitations of existing therapeutic interventions in one period or one type of cells, and multitargeted cellular combination has more potential in MI therapy. By employing hypoxia-ischemic and TGF-ß1-induced fibrosis cell models, we found that METTL3-14 inhibition effectively decreased cardiomyocyte death through the reduction of mitochondrial fragmentation and inhibiting myofibrillar transformation. DPDMN treatment of MI in rat models showed improved cardiac function and decreased infarct size and fibrosis level, demonstrating its superior effectiveness. The DPDMN delivers METTL3 inhibitor swiftly in the early phase to rescue dying cardiomyocytes and slowly in the late phase to achieve long-term suppression of fibroblast over proliferation, collagen synthesis, and deposition. RIP assay and mechanistic investigation confirmed that METTL3 inhibition reduced the translation efficiency of Drp1 mRNA by 5'UTR m6A modification, thus decreasing the Drp1 protein level and mitochondrial fragment after hypoxic-ischemic injury. This project investigated the efficacy of DPDMNs-loaded METTL3 inhibitor in MI treatment and the downstream signaling pathway proteins, providing an experimental foundation for the translation of the utility, safety, and versatility of microneedle drug delivery for MI into clinical applications.

HSP90ß prevents aging-related cataract formation through regulation of the charged multivesicular body protein (CHMP4B) and p53.

Cataract is a leading ocular disease causing global blindness. The mechanism of cataractogenesis has not been well defined. Here, we demonstrate that the heat shock protein 90ß (HSP90ß) plays a fundamental role in suppressing cataractogenesis. HSP90ß is the most dominant HSP in normal lens, and its constitutive high level of expression is largely derived from regulation by Sp1 family transcription factors. More importantly, HSP90ß is significantly down-regulated in human cataract patients and in aging mouse lenses, whereas HSP90ß silencing in zebrafish causes cataractogenesis, which can only be rescued by itself but not other HSP90 genes. Mechanistically, HSP90ß can directly interact with CHMP4B, a newly-found client protein involved in control of cytokinesis. HSP90ß silencing causes upregulation of CHMP4B and another client protein, the tumor suppressor p53. CHMP4B upregulation or overexpression induces excessive division of lens epithelial cells without proper differentiation. As a result, these cells were triggered to undergo apoptosis due to activation of the p53/Bak-Bim pathway, leading to cataractogenesis and microphthalmia. Silence of both HSP90ß and CHMP4B restored normal phenotype of zebrafish eye. Together, our results reveal that HSP90ß is a critical inhibitor of cataractogenesis through negative regulation of CHMP4B and the p53-Bak/Bim pathway.

Choriocapillaris and progressive ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer loss in non-glaucomatous eyes.

AIMS: To explore the relationship between choriocapillaris (CC) flow deficit percentage (FD%) and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness in a population-based sample of non-glaucomatous eyes. METHODS: This is a longitudinal cohort study and prospective cross-sectional study. Non-glaucoma Chinese subjects aged 18 years or older were enrolled. All participants underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination, including swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and SS-OCT angiography. Average, inner average, outer average and nine Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study sub-regions of GCIPL thickness and CC FD% were measured. The correlation between CC FD% and GCIPL was assessed using a linear regression model, and the relationship between the rate of change of GCIPL thickness and CC FD% was further validated in a 2year longitudinal study. RESULTS: In the cross-sectional study including 3514 participants (3514 non-glaucoma eyes), a higher CC FD% was significantly associated with a thinner GCIPL (ß=-0.32; 95% CI -0.43 to -0.21; p<0.001). Further, in a longitudinal study (453 eyes of 453 participants), a faster increase in CC FD% was found to be significantly associated with a faster decrease in GCIPL thickness (ß=-0.10; 95% CI -0.17 to -0.03; p=0.004) after adjusting for age, sex, axial length and image quality score. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first time to show that CC FD% and GCIPL thickness were correlated in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of non-glaucomatous individuals, which may potentially provide further insights on the role of CC perfusion in glaucoma development and progression.

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Quaternary 2D BiCuSeO p-Type Semiconductor with Intrinsic Degeneracy.

2D BiCuSeO is an intrinsic p-type degenerate semiconductor due to its self-doping effect, which possesses great potential to fabricate high-performance 2D-2D tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs). However, the controllable synthesis of multinary 2D materials by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is still a challenge due to the restriction of thermodynamics. Here, the CVD synthesis of quaternary 2D BiCuSeO nanosheets is realized. As-grown BiCuSeO nanosheets with thickness down to ≈6.1 nm (≈7 layers) and domain size of ≈277 µm show excellent ambient stability. Intrinsic p-type degeneracy of BiCuSeO, capable of maintaining even in a few layers, is comprehensively unveiled. By varying the thicknesses and temperatures, the carrier concentration of BiCuSeO nanosheets can be adjusted in the range of 1019 to 1021 cm-3 , and the Hall mobility of BiCuSeO is ≈191 cm2 V-1 s-1 (at 2 K). Furthermore, taking advantage of the p-type degeneracy of BiCuSeO, a prototypical BiCuSeO/MoS2 TFET is fabricated. The emergence of the negative differential resistance trend and multifunctional diodes by modulating the gate voltage and temperature reveal the great practical implementation potential of BiCuSeO nanosheets. These results pave way for the CVD synthesis of multinary 2D materials and rational design of high-performance tunnel devices.

Case report: Clinical and virological characteristics of aseptic meningitis caused by a recombinant echovirus 18 in an immunocompetent adult.

Echovirus 18 has been recognized as an important causative pathogen of aseptic meningitis in young children worldwide, and echovirus 18-induced meningitis is rarely found in adults with immunocompetence. In this case study, we report the clinical and virological characteristics of aseptic meningitis caused by recombinant echovirus 18 in an adult with immunocompetence. A 31-year-old woman with immunocompetence was admitted to our hospital with fever, dizziness, severe headache, nausea, and vomiting for the past 1 day and was diagnosed with viral meningitis based on the clinical manifestations and laboratory results from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The patient received antiviral treatment with ribavirin and interferon as soon as the enterovirus infection was identified using qRT-PCR and was cured after 4 days. From the oropharyngeal swab and CSF samples, two echovirus 18 strains were isolated with a single nucleotide difference located at the 5' UTR. Phylogenetic analyses based on the VP1 gene showed that the two strains belonged to the subgenotype C2 and were clustered with sequences obtained from China after 2015, while the results from the 3D polymerase region showed that the two strains were closely related to the E30 strains. Bootscanning results using the 5' UTR to 2A region and the 2B to 3' UTR region showed that potential intertypic recombination had occurred in the 2B gene. Recombination analyses further confirmed that the two strains (echovirus 18) presented genome recombination with echovirus 30 in the nucleotide regions of the 2B gene. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of echovirus 18-induced meningitis in an adult with immunocompetence from mainland China, highlighting the need for close surveillance of echovirus 18 both in children and adults in the future.

Highly Efficient, Ultrabroad PdSe2 Phototransistors from Visible to Terahertz Driven by Mutiphysical Mechanism.

The noble transition metal dichalcogenide palladium diselenide (PdSe2) is an ideal candidate material for broad-spectrum photodetection owing to the large bandgap tunability, high mobility, low thermal conductivity, and large Seebeck coefficient. In this study, self-powered ultrabroadband PdSe2 photodetectors from the visible-infrared to terahertz (THz) region driven by a mutiphysical mechanism are reported. In the visible-infrared region, the photogenerated electron-hole pairs in the PdSe2 body are quickly separated by the built-in electric field at the metal-semiconductor interface and achieve a photoresponsivity of 28 A·W-1 at 405 nm and 0.4 A·W-1 at 1850 nm. In the THz region, PdSe2 photodetectors display a room-temperature responsivity of 20 mA·W-1 at 0.10 THz and 5 mA·W-1 at 0.24 THz based on efficient production of hot carriers in an antenna-assisted structure. Owing to the fast response speed of ∼7.5 µs and low noise equivalent power of ∼900 pW·Hz-1/2, high-resolution transmission THz imaging is demonstrated under an ambient environment at room temperature. Our research validates the great potential of PdSe2 for broadband photodetection and provides a possibility for future optoelectronic applications.

miRNA-26b suppresses the TGF-ß2-induced progression of HLE-B3 cells via the PI3K/Akt pathway.

AIM: To study the effect of miR-26b on lens epithelial cells induced by transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) 2 and the underlying signaling pathways. METHODS: Human lens epithelial cell line B-3 (HLE-B3) was incubated with TGF-ß2 (5 ng/mL) and then transfected with miR-26b mimics. The expression of miR-26b was determined using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), while 5'-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and wound-healing assays were used to measure the growth and migration of HLE-B3 cells, respectively. The expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and the activity of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway were measured by Western blotting assay and immunofluorescence staining. Electron microscopy was also used to observe cellular morphology. RESULTS: The expression levels of miR-26b were significantly reduced in human posterior capsular opacification-attached lens tissue and TGF-ß2-stimulated HLE-B3 cells. In the presence of TGF-ß2, the growth, migration, and EMT of HLE-B3 cells were distinctly enhanced; these effects were attenuated by the administration of miR-26b mimics. Furthermore, the overexpression of miR-26b significantly reduced upregulation of the PI3K/Akt pathway when stimulated by TGF-ß2 in HLE-B3 cells. Moreover, the addition of an activator (740 Y-P) led to the upregulation of the PI3K/Akt pathway and abolished the protective effect of miR-26b on the HLE-B3 cells that was mediated by TGF-ß2. CONCLUSION: The miR-26b suppresses TGF-ß2-induced growth, migration, and EMT in HLE-B3 cells by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

[Health Impact Attributable to the Control of PM2.5 Pollution in China During 2013-2017].

To evaluate the health benefits brought about by air environmental treatment and determine the main drivers of health risk, we calculated the health and economic benefits attributed to PM2.5 control in Eastern and Central China from 2013 to 2017 by combining PM2.5 concentrations with a human activity enhanced exposure-response model. The relative contributions of changes in four factors related to the PM2.5 health burden were also quantified, namely total population, population aging, baseline mortality rates, and ambient exposure. The results show that the population weighted PM2.5 concentration decreased by 28.73% and the proportion of the population exposed to annual PM2.5 concentrations lower than or equal to 35 µg·m-3 increased from 11.23% to 27.91% across the study area during this period. Avoided deaths were decreased to 14.43%, which equates to avoided economic losses of approximately 559 billion RMB. If PM2.5 concentration meets the Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standard Grade Ⅱ (35 µg·m-3) or Grade Ⅰ (15 µg·m-3), or the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) standards (10 µg·m-3), a 8.22%, 55.05%, and 79.36% reduction in the total deaths could be achieved in the base year (2017) with equivalent total economic benefits of approximately 319, 2137, and 3081 billion RMB, respectively. Total population, population aging, baseline mortality rates, and PM2.5 concentrations contributed -2.69%, -12.38%, 1.66%, and 14.57% to PM2.5-related deaths. Overall, during the study period, the reduction in PM2.5 concentrations has been the main factor contributing to the reduction in the public health burden. China has implemented significant air pollution control measures; however, the health burden associated with high PM2.5 concentrations in densely populated areas is still extremely high, requiring an aggressive air pollution control strategy.

Ultrasensitive negative photoresponse in 2D Cr2Ge2Te6 photodetector with light-induced carrier trapping.

Cr2Ge2Te6, a layered ferromagnetic semiconductor, has triggered extensive research interest due to its fantastic ferromagnetism and semiconducting characteristics as well as potential applications in next-generation spintronic and nanoelectronic devices. On the basis of its ferromagnetism, combined with rich electronic and optical properties, Cr2Ge2Te6 could be a promising candidate for optoelectronics including magnetophotonics and photodetectors. However, there are no relevant studies addressing this to date. In this work, we comprehensively investigated the photoresponse characteristics of few-layer Cr2Ge2Te6-based detectors. An uncommon negative photoconductivity (NPC) and correlated mechanism are explored with the Cr2Ge2Te6 photodetector. It is found that, both NPC and positive photoconductivity (PPC) may exist in an individual Cr2Ge2Te6 device, which are adjustable by control of the incident light intensity. More significantly, the NPC behavior enables ultrasensitive photoresponses of the Cr2Ge2Te6 photodetectors, where the detection of a weak light with an incident power intensity as low as 0.04 pW and a high responsivity of 340 AW-1 is achieved. This extraordinary performance demonstrates that the two-dimensional (2D) Cr2Ge2Te6 holds great promise for applications in ultraweak light detection.

[Pollution Characteristics of Perfluorinated Compounds in Offshore Marine Area of Shenzhen].

In order to explore the pollution characteristics of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), 10 surface seawaters and 7 surface sediments were collected in offshore marine area of Shenzhen (offshore distance >2 km) in September 2013. All the samples were prepared by solid-phase extraction and analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/ MS). The results showed that 10 PFCs, including C4, C6 and C8 perfluorinated sulfonates (PFSAs) and C5-C11, perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) were detected in the surface waters. ∑ PFC concentrations ranged from 1.74 ng x L(-1) to 14.7 ng x L(-1) with PFBS, PFOS and PFOA being the dominant compounds. The spatial distribution of ∑ PFC concentrations displayed the characteristic of "the west being higher than the east", with ∑ PFC concentrations of Lingding Sea and Shenzhen Bay being higher than those of Daya Bay and Dapeng Bay (P < 0.05). The farther the sampling location was from the shore, the lower the ∑ PFC concentrations were. Direct sewage emissions and rivers emptying into the sea might be the primary sources of PFCs in the surface seawaters. 8 PFCs, including C6 and C8 PFSAs and C5, C6, and C8-C11 PFCAs were detected in the surface sediments. ∑ PFC concentrations ranged from 2.22 micorg x kg(-1) to 2.62 microg x kg(-1) with PFOS being the dominant compounds. There was a small change of ∑ PFC concentrations in surface sediments, which might be contributed by the adsorption from overlying water. The adsorption of PFCs on sediment significantly increased with the increasing length of carbon chain, and the adsorption of PFSA was higher than that of PFCA with the same length of carbon chain as PFSA. Additionally, the comparison with other seawater PFC measurements showed high PFBS pollution in this study, whereas the level of PFOS in sediment was close to those of other studies.

Volar locking plate versus external fixation for the treatment of unstable distal radial fractures: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: The choice between volar locking plates (VLP) and external fixation (EF) for unstable distal radius fractures have not reached a consensus. The meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed to compare VLP with EF to determine the dominant strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Meta-analysis was performed with a systematic search of studies conducted by using the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. The randomized controlled trials that compared VLP with EF was identified. Characteristics, functional outcomes, radiological results, and complications were manually extracted from all the selected studies. RESULTS: Six studies encompassing 445 patients met the inclusion criteria. There was significant difference between two procedures in disabilities of the arm shoulder and hand scores at 3,6, and 12 mo, visual analogue scale at 6 mo, grip strength at 3 mo, supination at 3 and 6 mo, extension at 3 mo, ulnar variance at 12 mo, and reoperation rate at 12 mo, postoperatively. However, there was no significant difference between flexion, pronation, radial deviation, and ulnar deviation at all follow-up points postoperatively and overall complications at 12 mo, postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: EF had less reoperative rate due to complications, however, VLP had advantages in functional recovery in the early period after surgery, but two methods had similar functional recovery at 12 mo, postoperatively. Clinician should make the treatment decision with great caution for the patients who sustained unstable distal radial fractures.

Characterization of a new highly mosquitocidal isolate of Bacillusthuringiensis--an alternative to Bti?

The mosquito is a very important vector involved in the worldwide transmission of disease-causing viruses and parasites. Controlling the mosquito population remains one of the best means for preventing the serious infectious diseases of malaria, yellow fever, dengue, filariasis and so on and there has been an increasing interest in developing biopesticides as a useful substitute to chemical insecticides. As a result, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) has been extensively used due to its specificity and high toxicity to a variety of mosquito larvae. However it is prudent to seek alternatives to Bti with alternative spectra of mosquitocidal activity or that are able to overcome any resistance that might develop against Bti. The Bt S2160-1 strain was isolated from soil samples collected from Southern China and found to have a comparable mosquitocidal activity to Bti. However there were significant differences in terms of their plasmid profiles, crystal proteins produced and cry gene complement. A PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism identification system was developed and used in order to identify novel cry-type genes and four such genes (cry30Ea, cry30Ga, cry50Ba and cry54Ba) were identified in Bt S2160-1. In conclusion, Bt S2160-1 has been identified as a potential alternative to Bti, which could be used for the control of mosquito populations in order to reduce the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases.

Identification of Colletotrichum spp. isolated from strawberry in Zhejiang Province and Shanghai City, China.

Strawberry anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum spp., is a major disease of cultivated strawberry. This study identifies 31 isolates of Colletotrichum spp. which cause strawberry anthracnose in Zhejiang Province and Shanghai City, China. Eleven isolates were identified as C. acutatum, 10 as C. gloeosporioides and 10 as C. fragariae based on morphological characteristics, phylogenetic and sequence analyses. Species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme digestion further confirmed the identification of the Colletotrichum spp., demonstrating that these three species are currently the causal agents of strawberry anthracnose in the studied regions. Based on analysis of rDNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS) sequences, sequences of all C. acutatum were identical, and little genetic variability was observed between C. fragariae and C. gloeosporioides. However, the conservative nature of the MvnI specific site from isolates of C. gloeosporioides was confirmed, and this site could be used to differentiate C. gloeosporioides from C. fragariae.