2.4 kW 1045 nm narrow-spectral-width monolithic single-mode CW fiber laser by using an FBG-based MOPA configuration.

A 24 kW narrow-spectral-width near-diffraction-limited monolithic fiber laser system at ${\sim}{1045.2}\;{\rm{nm}}$ in a fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) configuration is demonstrated in this paper. The near-diffraction-limited beam quality (${{\rm{M}}^2}\sim{1.2}$) and a spectral width of 0.35 nm (${\sim}{{96}}\;{\rm{GHz}}$) are achieved. The stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is theoretically and experimentally investigated. The SRS has been suppressed by carefully optimizing the length of the Yb-doped fiber and the pumping scheme, and a signal-to-noise ratio of ${\sim}{{33}}\;{\rm{dB}}$ between the laser signal and the Raman Stokes component is achieved. The stimulate Brillouin scattering and the transverse mode instability are not observed. To our best knowledge, this is the highest-output power for ${{104}} \times {\rm{nm}}$ single-mode fiber laser with ${\sim}{{96}}\;{\rm{GHz}}$ spectral width by using an FBG-based MOPA configuration.

A novel conformational B-cell epitope prediction method based on mimotope and patch analysis.

A B-cell epitope is a group of residues on the surface of an antigen that stimulates humoral immune responses. Identifying B-cell epitopes is important for effective vaccine design. Predicting epitopes by experimental methods is expensive in terms of time, cost and effort; therefore, computational methods that have a low cost and high speed are widely used to predict B-cell epitopes. Recently, epitope prediction based on random peptide library screening has been viewed as a promising method. Some novel software and web-based servers have been proposed that have succeeded in some test cases. Herein, we propose a novel epitope prediction method based on amino acid pairs and patch analysis. The method first divides antigen surfaces into overlapping patches based on both radius (R) and number (N), then predict epitopes based on Amino Acid Pairs (AAPs) from mimotopes and the surface patch. The proposed method yields a mean sensitivity of 0.53, specificity of 0.77, ACC of 0.75 and F-measure of 0.45 for 39 test cases. Compared with mimotope-based methods, patch-based methods and two other prediction methods, the sensitivity of the new method offers a certain improvement. Our findings demonstrate that this proposed method was successful for patch and AAPs analysis and allowed for conformational B-cell epitope prediction.

110 W all-fiber picosecond master oscillator power amplifier based on large-core-diameter ytterbium-doped fiber.

We demonstrate an all-fiber picosecond fiber laser in a master oscillator power amplifier configuration. The seed source is a soliton-type passively mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and chirped fiber Bragg grating. The pulse width of the seed laser is 4.5 ps with a repetition rate of 15 MHz. A highly doped active fiber with a large core diameter (50 µm) is employed to boost the average power of the seed pulses to 117 W with 11 ps pulse width and 709 kW peak power. The corresponding output beam quality factor at maximum output power is 3.7. The all-fiber construction of the whole laser system enables compact size and robust operation.

Dietary methionine sources and levels modulate the intestinal health status of broiler chickens.

Given the key role of methionine in biological processes, adequate methionine should be provided to meet the nutritional requirements. DL-2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)-butanoic acid (DL-HMTBA) has been considered as an important source of methionine. However, the effects of different sources and levels of methionine on the intestinal health status have not been clarified yet. An experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different dietary sources and levels of methionine on the intestinal epithelial barrier, inflammatory cytokines expression, ileal morphology, microbiota composition, and cecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) profiles. For this purpose, 720 male Arbor Acre broiler chicks at 1 d old were randomly assigned to a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with 2 methionine sources (DL-methionine and DL-HMTBA) and 3 total sulfur amino acids (TSAA) levels (80%, 100%, and 120% of Arbor Acre recommendation). The results showed that DL-HMTBA supplementation promoted intestinal physical barrier at both gene expression level of claudin-1 and serum diamine oxidase level (P < 0.05), and the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 mRNA expression was down-regulated by dietary DL-HMTBA supplementation compared with the DL-methionine group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, an upregulated gene expression of claudin-1 and zonula occluden-1 (ZO-1) were observed in the low-TSAA treatment on d 14 (P < 0.05), whereas this treatment increased the expression of IL-1ß and IL-6 (P < 0.05). Villus height to crypt depth ratio was high (P < 0.05) in the middle-level TSAA group. Furthermore, DL-HMTBA supplementation optimized the microbiota of the ileum especially the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, where the digestion and absorption were completed, and elevated the concentrations of SCFA (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) in the cecal content on d 21 (P < 0.01). In conclusion, dietary DL-HMTBA supplementation improved the intestinal barrier function, immune homeostasis and optimized the microbiota to promote intestinal health status in broiler chickens.

Construction of low intestinal bacteria model and its effect on laying performance and immune function of laying hens.

The objective of this study was to establish a low-bacteria intestinal model in chickens, and then to investigate the characteristics involving in immune function and intestinal environment of this model. A total of 180 twenty-one-week-old Hy-line gray layers were randomly allocated into 2 treatment groups. Hens were fed with a basic diet (Control), or an antibiotic combination diet (ABS) for 5 weeks. Results showed that the total bacteria in the ileal chyme were significantly dropped after ABS treatment. Compared with the Control group, the genus-level bacteria such as Romboutsia, Enterococcus, and Aeriscardovia were reduced in the ileal chyme of the ABS group (P < 0.05). In addition, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus_delbrueckii, Lactobacillus_aviarius, Lactobacillus_gasseri, and Lactobacillus_agilis in the ileal chyme were also descended (P < 0.05). However, Lactobacillus_coleohominis, Lactobacillus_salivarius, and Lolium_perenne were elevated in the ABS group (P < 0.05). Beyond that, ABS treatment decreased the levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and ß-defensin 1 in the serum, as well as the number of goblet cells in the ileal villi (P < 0.05). Additionally, the genes mRNA levels of the ileum such as Mucin2, Toll-like receptors 4 (TLR4), Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MYD88), NF-κB, IL-1ß, Interferon-gama (IFN-γ), IL-4 and the ratio of IFN-γ to IL-4 were also down-regulated in the ABS group (P < 0.05). In addition, there were no significant changes about egg production rate and egg quality in the ABS group. In conclusion, dietary supplemental antibiotic combination for 5 weeks could establish a low intestinal bacteria model of hens. The establishment of a low intestinal bacteria model did not affect the egg-laying performance, while caused immune suppression in laying hens.

An Interwoven Psychological Syndrome of Job Burnout and Work Engagement in Construction Project Management Professionals Due to Work-Family Imbalance.

Most current studies on the mental health of construction project management professionals (CPMPs) are conducted from a negative psychological perspective, lacking a comprehensive understanding of the positive-negative interwoven mechanism. This study developed a positive-negative dual-process psychological model of CPMPs to explore the interwoven mechanisms among five variables: family-supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB), work-family conflict, work-family enrichment, job burnout, and work engagement. We conducted a large-scale questionnaire survey among Chinese CPMPs. A total of 656 questionnaires were returned; 446 were considered valid. The groups of CPMPs prone to occupational psychological problems were identified, which enhanced the targeted organizational management in the construction industry. The hypothetical model was verified with SEM. The results revealed that the effect of work-family enrichment was more significant than work-family conflict, which implies that the positive psychology process may play a more prominent role than the negative process. There was a significant correlation between FSSB and work-family conflict/ enrichment; but no direct correlation between FSSB and job burnout/work engagement. This implies that the improvement of the work-family relationship plays a full mediating role in improving CPMPs' occupational psychological health. This research provides a thorough understanding of CPMPs' interwoven occupational psychological problems and gives suggestions to enhance their occupational psychological health.

Effects of dietary glucose oxidase on growth performance and intestinal health of AA broilers challenged by Clostridium perfringens.

Arbor Acre (AA) broilers were used as the research object to investigate whether glucose oxidase (GOD) has preventive and relieving effects on necrotic enteritis. The experiment was designed as a factorial arrangement of 2 dietary treatments × 2 infection states. Chickens were fed a basal diet or a diet with 150 U/kg GOD, and were challenged with Clostridium perfringens (Cp) or sterile culture medium. In our study, Cp challenge led to intestinal injury, as evidenced by reducing the average daily gain and the average daily feed intake of AA broilers of 14 to 21 d (P < 0.05), increasing the intestinal jejunal lesion score (P < 0.05), reducing the jejunal villi height and villi height/crypt depth (P < 0.05), upregulating the mRNA expression levels jejunal IFN-γ (P < 0.05). The dietary GOD had no significant effects on the growth performance of each growth period, but significantly decreased the ileal pH, increased the height of villi and the ratio of villi height to crypt depth (P < 0.05) and the expression levels of Occludin and Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) at d 21. Moreover, dietary GOD and the Cp challenge significantly altered the composition of 21-d ileal microbiota. The Cp challenge decreased the relative abundance of genus Lactobacillus (P = 0.057), and increased the relative abundance of genus Romboutsia (P < 0.05) and genus Veillonella (P = 0.088). The dietary GOD tended to increase the relative abundance of genus Helicobacter (P = 0.066) and decrease the relative abundance of genus Streptococcus (P = 0.071). This study has shown that the supplementation of GOD could promote the integrity of intestinal barrier and the balance of ileal microbiota, but the effects of GOD on NE broilers and its application in actual production need to be further confirmed.

Soya saponin improves egg-laying performance and immune function of laying hens.

BACKGROUND: Soya saponin (SS), an active compound in soybean meals, has been widely studied in the medical field. However, it was considered as an anti-nutritional factor in poultry diets. The objective of this experiment was to measure the effects of dietary SS using three dietary treatments on egg-laying performance and immune function of laying hens. Birds were fed a low soybean meal basal diet (CON), a low-SS diet (50 SS) containing 50 mg/kg SS, or a high-SS diet (500 SS) containing 500 mg/kg SS for 10 weeks. At the end of the 5th and 10th week of the trial, samples were collected for analysis. RESULTS: Results showed that with 50 mg/kg SS supplementation, the egg production rate, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and eggshell quality tended to be improved. Serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and Interleukin-4 (IL-4) levels were also elevated as well as the peripheral blood LPS stimulation index, the proportion of B lymphocytes, and antibody titer of bovine serum albumin (BSA). We also found that mRNA levels of follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) in ovarian, nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-κB), Transforming growth factor (TGF-ß) and interferon γ (IFN-γ) in spleen were up-regulated at the end of the trial. Additionally, dietary 50 mg/kg SS improved the ileal flora via up-regulating the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Romboutsia and Lactobacillus delbrueckii. Although the immune related indicators were improved with 500 mg/kg SS supplemented, it seemed to have a negative influence on the laying-performance. Specifically, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the ratio of IFN-γ to IL-4 were increased in the 500 SS group at the end of the trial. The mRNA levels of gonadotropin releasing hormone 1 (GnRH1) in Hypothalamus, the estrogen related receptor (ERR) in ovaries were downregulated as well as the egg production rate during the trial with 500 mg/kg SS supplemented. CONCLUSIONS: The egg production performance was improved by dietary supplemented with 50 mg/kg SS via increasing ovarian FSHR transcription level and serum estrogen level. A beneficial shift in intestinal microflora was recorded, and the immune function of laying hens was also improved with 50 mg/kg SS supplementation. Surprisingly, the long-term supplementation of 500 mg/kg SS exerted a negative impact on the laying performance and physiological functions of the liver of laying hens.

Characterization of an N-acylhomoserine lactonase from Serratia sp. and its biofouling mitigation in a membrane bioreactor.

Membrane biofouling is a process that can impede the development of membrane bioreactor (MBR), which constitutes an important system of the wastewater treatment process. Membrane biofouling is governed by quorum sensing (QS), a communication system heavily dependent on the activities of signal molecules. Certain bacteria, known as quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria, can quench the QS process by destroying the signal molecules. These QQ bacteria are considered a sustainable and feasible way of mitigating membrane biofouling in MBR. In this study, a QQ enzyme (designated as AisZ) from a Serratia sp. was first identified and characterized. Escherichia coli BL21 expressing AisZ was able to degrade different QS signal molecules. Furthermore, these cells could also mitigate membrane biofouling in MBR during a 29-day operation by reducing the transmembrane pressure from 31 to 21 kPa. The metal ions Co2+ and Ni2+ were relatively important to AisZ in that they could significantly enhance the activity of AisZ and restore the EDTA-inactivated AisZ. Expression of the aisA gene was not influenced by Co2+, Ni2+ and QS signal molecules. AisZ might, therefore, extend the diversity of potential candidates for the mitigation of biofouling associated with membrane filtration technologies.

Soya saponin fails to improve the antioxidation and immune function of laying hens with antibiotics treated.

Soya saponin (SS) helps to improve antioxidant and immune function of body, and intestinal bacteria might play an important role here. In the present study, the co-occurring network of the ileal flora was analyzed with 50 mg/kg SS supplemented to the diet, and Romboutsia was found to have evolved into a dominant flora. In addition, the co-occurring network of the flora was changed with the combined antibiotic treated, and the unidentified-cyanobacteria developed into the dominant flora, whereas the relative abundance of Romboutsia was dropped. Dietary SS failed to elevate the relative abundance of Romboutsia with antibiotics treated, at the same time, it was not helpful for the antioxidant and immune function of laying hens. While dietary SS had a little help on the egg-laying performance. Intestinal bacteria did play a key role in the biological functions of SS on laying hens. In conclusion, SS failed to improve the antioxidation and immune function of laying hens with antibiotics treated.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Reshapes the Physiological Function of the Intestine in Antibiotic-Treated Specific Pathogen-Free Birds.

The topic about the interactions between host and intestinal microbiota has already caught the attention of many scholars. However, there is still a lack of systematic reports on the relationship between the intestinal flora and intestinal physiology of birds. Thus, this study was designed to investigate it. Antibiotic-treated specific pathogen-free (SPF) bird were used to construct an intestinal bacteria-free bird (IBF) model, and then, the differences in intestinal absorption, barrier, immune, antioxidant and metabolic functions between IBF and bacteria-bearing birds were studied. To gain further insight, the whole intestinal flora of bacteria-bearing birds was transplanted into the intestines of IBF birds to study the remodeling effect of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on the intestinal physiology of IBF birds. The results showed that compared with bacteria-bearing birds, IBF birds had a lighter body weight and weaker intestinal absorption, antioxidant, barrier, immune and metabolic functions. Interestingly, FMT contributed to reshaping the abovementioned physiological functions of the intestines of IBF birds. In conclusion, the intestinal flora plays an important role in regulating the physiological functions of the intestine.

Effects of housing systems and glucose oxidase on growth performance and intestinal health of Beijing You Chickens.

We investigated the effects of housing systems and dietary glucose oxidase (GOD) on the growth performance and intestinal health of Beijing You chickens (BYC). The experiment was designed as a factorial arrangement of 2 housing systems × 2 dietary treatments. Chickens were fed a basal diet or a diet with 200 U/kg GOD and were reared on the floor with deep litter or in the cages. Compared with the litter floor groups, the decreased average daily feed intake of 1 to 42 d, decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR), improved average daily gain of 42 to 77 d, and the whole period were identified in the cage rearing groups (P < 0.05). The FCR of 42 to 77 d and the whole period, the 42-d ileal pH, and 77-d jejunal and ileal pH decreased with the supplement of GOD (P < 0.05). Additionally, 16S rRNA gene of ileum contents was sequenced by high-throughput sequencing. Sequencing data indicated that the Firmicutes phylum of 42 d and the Bacteroidetes phylum were significantly higher in the litter group with GOD supplement (P < 0.05). The jejunal Occludin, Mucin-2 mRNA expression levels were higher in the litter floor groups than those in the cage rearing groups on 42 d (P < 0.05). The Mucin-2 and TNF-α mRNA expression levels increased with cage rearing on 77 d (P < 0.05). The Occludin and TLR-4 mRNA expression levels increased with the supplementation of GOD on 77 d (P < 0.05). Moreover, the upregulation effects of Occludin and ZO-1 mRNA expression levels were more obvious in the litter floor group fed with GOD diet on 77 d (P < 0.05). The serum endotoxin content of 42-day-old cage rearing groups were higher than that of the litter floor groups, and the serum endotoxin content significantly decreased with the supplement of GOD on 77 d. The results indicated that the litter floor systems were beneficial to the development of intestinal barrier junction in the early stage, but the cage systems were more conducive to the growth performance of BYC. The dietary GOD could inhibit the harmful bacteria and promote the beneficial bacteria, which might be related to the improvement of the growth performance and intestinal barrier function.

Effects of dietary vitamins supplementation level on the production performance and intestinal microbiota of aged laying hens.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of higher vitamins supplementation level on the performance, immunity, and intestinal microbiota of old laying hens. Twelve birds were randomly chosen from 312 healthy, 65-wk-old Hy-Line Brown layers for sampling after a 7-wk acclimation period. The remaining 300 hens were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments for a 13-wk feeding trial: basal diet (CON), basal diet with 2-fold supplementation level of lipid-soluble vitamins (LV), 2-fold supplementation level of water-soluble vitamins (WV), or 2-fold supplementation level of both lipid-soluble and water-soluble vitamins (BV), respectively. Compared with 72-wk-old laying hens, the 85-wk-old laying hens showed declined egg quality, which implied by inferior eggshell strength and yolk color (P < 0.05). However, after 13 wks feeding trial, the birds in WV group had higher yellowness of yolk color, and LV group had increased laying rate (P < 0.05) compared with CON. Meanwhile, WV and/or BV groups showed improved GSH/GSSG levels in liver and increased secretory immunoglobulin A concentrations in jejunum compared with CON (P < 0.05). In addition, higher dietary vitamin supplementation levels significantly altered the composition of intestinal microbiota, as evidenced by increased abundance of ileal Lactobacillus, whereas reduced richness of ileal Romboutsia, Turicibacter, and cecal Faecalibacterium (P < 0.05) in WV group and increased cecal Megasphaera and Phascolarctobacterium (P < 0.05) in LV group compared with CON group. In conclusion, higher vitamin supplementation levels in the diet could improve laying performance and egg quality of aged hens, which was closely correlated with the increased abundance of beneficial microbiota in the intestine.