Multifunctional Wearable Electronic Based on Fabric Modified by PPy/NiCoAl-LDH for Energy Storage, Electromagnetic Interference Shielding, and Photothermal Conversion.

With the rapid advancement of electronic technology, traditional textiles are challenged to keep up with the demands of wearable electronics. It is anticipated that multifunctional textile-based electronics incorporating energy storage, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and photothermal conversion are expected to alleviate this problem. Herein, a multifunctional cotton fabric with hierarchical array structure (PPy/NiCoAl-LDH/Cotton) is fabricated by the introduction of NiCoAl-layered double hydroxide (NiCoAl-LDH) nanosheet arrays on cotton fibers, followed by polymerization and growth of continuous dense polypyrrole (PPy) conductive layers. The multifunctional cotton fabric shows a high specific areal capacitance of 754.72 mF cm-2 at 5 mA cm-2 and maintains a long cycling life (80.95% retention after 1000 cycles). The symmetrical supercapacitor assembled with this fabric achieves an energy density of 20.83 Wh cm-2 and a power density of 0.23 mWcm-2. Moreover, the excellent electromagnetic interference shielding (38.83 dB), photothermal conversion (70.2 °C at 1000 mW cm-2), flexibility and durability are also possess by the multifunctional cotton fabric. Such a multifunctional cotton fabric has great potential for using in new energy, smart electronics, and thermal management applications.

Quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-dione Scaffold for development of a novel PARP-targeting PET probe for tumor imaging.

PURPOSE: Overexpression of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is associated with many diseases such as oncological diseases. Several PARP-targeting radiotracers have been developed to detect tumor in recent years. Two 18F labelled probes based on Olaparib and Rucaparib molecular scaffolds have been evaluated in clinical trials, but their slow hepatic clearance hinders their tumor imaging performance. Although a number of positron emission tomography (PET) probes with lower liver uptake have been designed, the tumor to background ratios remains to be low. Therefore, we designed a probe with low lipid-water partition coefficient to solve this problem. METHODS: A pyridine-containing quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-dione PARP-targeting group was rationally designed and used to conjugate with the chelator 2,2',2'',2'''-(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetrayl)tetraacetic acid (DOTA) to prepare the lead compound named as SMIC-2001 for radiolabeling. In vitro experiments, the lipid-water partition coefficient, stability, binding affinity, and cellular uptake of [68Ga]Ga-SMIC-2001 were determined. In vivo experiments, the U87MG xenograft models were used to evaluate its tumor imaging properties. RESULTS: [68Ga]Ga-SMIC-2001 showed a low Log D7.4 (-3.82 ± 0.06) and high affinity for PARP-1 (48.13 nM). In vivo study revealed that it exhibited a high tumor-to-background contrast in the U87MG xenograft models and mainly renal clearance. And the ratios of tumor to main organs were high except for the kidney (e.g. tumor to liver ratio reached 2.20 ± 0.51) at 60 min p.i. CONCLUSION: In summary, pyridine-containing quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-dione is a novel PARP-targeting molecular scaffold for imaging probe development, and [68Ga]Ga-SMIC-2001 is a highly promising PET probe capable of imaging tumors with PARP overexpression.

Ultralight Flexible Collagen Fiber Based Aerogels Derived from Leather Solid Waste for High Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

Designing and developing high-performance shielding materials against electromagnetic interference is of utmost importance due to the rapid advancement of wireless telecommunication technologies. Such materials hold both fundamental and technological significance. A three-stage process is presented for creating ultralight, flexible aerogels from biomass to shield against electromagnetic interference. Collagen fibers sourced from leather solid waste are used for: (i) freeze-drying preparation of collagen fibers/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) aerogels, (ii) adsorption of silver nanowires (AgNWs) onto collagen fiber/PVA aerogels, and (iii) Hydrophobic modification of collagen fiber/PVA/AgNWs aerogels with 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (POTS). Scanning electron microscopy studies reveal that an interweaving of AgNWs and collagen fiber/PVA porous network has formed a conductive network, exhibiting an electrical conductivity of 103 S·m-1. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness reached more than 62 dB, while the density was merely 5.8 mg/cm3. The collagen fiber/PVA/AgNWs/POTS aerogel displayed an even better electromagnetic shielding efficiency of 73 dB and water contact angle of 147°. The study results emphasize the distinctive capacity of leather solid waste to generate cost-effective, ecofriendly, and highly efficient electromagnetic interference shielding materials.

Effects of Combined Application of Percutaneous Vertebroplasty and Zoledronic Acid on Bone Mineral Density, Bone Metabolism, NPY and PGE2 in Elderly Patients with Osteoporotic Lumbar Vertebral Compression Fracture.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of the combined application of percutaneous vertebroplasty and zoledronic acid on bone mineral density (BMD), bone metabolism, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in elderly patients with osteoporotic lumbar vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). METHODS: The medical records of 118 elderly patients with OVCF who received treatment at our hospital from March 2018 to March 2020 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Vertebral body height, spinal function, pain degree, and lumbar BMD were compared between the two groups upon admission and three years after the operation. Additionally, the levels of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D), beta collagen degradation fragments (ß-CTx), neuropeptide Y (NPY), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the two groups were measured at admission and three years after the operation. Furthermore, complications in the two groups within three years after the operation were documented. RESULTS: After three years post-operation, the combination group showed a significantly greater improvement in vertebral body height compared to the control group (P<0.05). Moreover, the combination group exhibited a significantly lower Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score compared to the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In elderly patients with OVCF, the combined use of zoledronic acid and percutaneous vertebroplasty is effective in improving lumbar function, BMD, and bone metabolism indices, while reducing pain and the levels of NPY and PGE2.

Dual Redox Reaction Sites for Pseudocapacitance Based on Ti and -P Functional Groups of Ti3C2PBrx MXene.

MXenes have extensive applications due to their different properties determined by intrinsic structures and various functional groups. Exploring different functional groups of MXenes leads to improved performance or potential applications. In this work, we prepared new Ti3C2PBrx (x=0.4-0.6) MXene with phosphorus functional groups (-P) through a two-step gas-phase reaction. The acquisition of -P is achieved by replacing bromine functional groups (-Br) of Ti3C2Br2 in the phosphorus vapor. After -Br is replaced with -P, Ti3C2PBrx MXene shows an improved areal capacitance (360 mF cm-2) at 20 mV s-1 compared with Ti3C2Br2 MXene (102 mF cm-2). At a current density of 5 mA cm-2 after 10000 cycles, the capacitance retention of Ti3C2PBrx MXene has not decreased. The pseudocapacitive enhancement mechanism has been discovered based on the dual redox sites of the functional groups -P and Ti.

EISA-EXPOSOME: One Highly Sensitive and Autonomous Exposomic Platform with Enhanced in-Source Fragmentation/Annotation.

Lacking a highly sensitive exposome screening technique is one of the biggest challenges in moving exposomic research forward. Enhanced in-source fragmentation/annotation (EISA) has been developed to facilitate molecular identification in untargeted metabolomics and proteomics. In this work, with a mixture of 50 pesticides at three concentration levels (20, 4, and 0.8 ppb), we investigated the analytical performance of the EISA technique over the well-accepted targeted MS/MS mode (TMM) in the detection and identification of chemicals at low levels using a quadrupole time-of-flight (qTOF) instrument. Compared with the TMM method, the EISA technique can recognize additional 1, 20, and 23 chemicals, respectively, at the three concentration levels (20, 4, and 0.8 ppb, respectively) investigated. At the 0.8 ppb level, intensities of precursor ions and fragments observed using the EISA technique are 30-1,154 and 3-80 times higher, respectively, than those observed at the TMM mode. A higher matched fragment ratio (MFR) between the EISA technique and the TMM method was recognized for most chemicals. We further developed a chemical annotation informatics algorithm, EISA-EXPOSOME, which can automatically search each precursor ion (m/z) in the MS/MS library against the EISA MS1 spectra. This algorithm then calculated a weighted score to rank the candidate features by comparing the experimental fragment spectra to those in the library. The peak intensity, zigzag index, and retention time prediction model as well as the peak correlation coefficient were further adopted in the algorithm to filter false positives. The performance of EISA-EXPOSOME was demonstrated using a pooled dust extract with a pesticide mixture (n = 200) spiked at 5 ppb. One urine sample spiked with a contaminant mixture (n = 50) at the 5 ppb level was also used for the validation of the pipeline. Proof-of-principal application of EISA-EXPOSOME in the real sample was further evaluated on the pooled dust sample with a modified T3DB database (n = 1650). Our results show that the EISA-EXPOSOME algorithm can remarkably improve the detection and annotation coverage at trace levels beyond the traditional approach as well as facilitate the high throughput screening of suspected chemicals.

Surface Reconstruction of Covellite CuS Nanocrystals for Enhanced OER Catalytic Performance in Alkaline Solution.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is one of the important half-reactions in energy conversion equipment such as water-spitting devices, rechargeable metal-air batteries, and so on. It is beneficial to develop efficient and low-cost catalysts that understand the reaction mechanism of OER and analyze the reconstruction phenomenon of transition metal sulfide. Interestingly, copper sulfide and cuprous sulfide with the same components possess different reconstruction behaviors due to their different metal ion valence states and different atomic arrangement modes. Because of a unique atomic arrangement sequence and certain cationic defects, the reconstruction phenomenon of CuS nanomaterials are that S2- is firstly oxidized to SO4 2- and then Cux + is converted into CuO via Cu(OH)2 . In addition, the specific "modified hourglass structure" of CuS with excellent conductivity is easier to produce intermediates. Compared with Cu2 S, CuS exhibits excellent OER activity with a lower overpotential of 192 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and remarkable electrochemical stability in 1.0 m KOH for 120 h. Herein, this study elucidates the reconstruction modes of CuS and Cu2 S in the OER process and reveals that CuS has a stronger CuS bond and a faster electronic transmission efficiency due to "modified hourglass structure," resulting in faster reconstruction of CuS than Cu2 S.

The effect of ambient ozone exposure on three types of diabetes: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Ozone as an air pollutant is gradually becoming a threat to people's health. However, the effect of ozone exposure on risk of developing diabetes, a fast-growing global metabolic disease, remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of ambient ozone exposure on the incidence rate of type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes mellitus. METHOD: We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases before July 9, 2022, to determine relevant literature. Data were extracted after quality evaluation according to the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) and the agency for healthcare research and quality (AHRQ) standards, and a meta-analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between ozone exposure and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The heterogeneity test, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias were performed using Stata 16.0. RESULTS: Our search identified 667 studies from three databases, 19 of which were included in our analysis after removing duplicate and ineligible studies. Among the remaining studies, three were on T1D, five were on T2D, and eleven were on GDM. The result showed that ozone exposure was positively correlated with T2D [effect size (ES) = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.11] and GDM [pooled odds ratio (OR) = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.03]. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that ozone exposure in the first trimester of pregnancy might raise the risk of GDM. However, no significant association was observed between ozone exposure and T1D. CONCLUSION: Long-term exposure to ozone may increase the risk of T2D, and daily ozone exposure during pregnancy was a hazard factor for developing GDM. Decreasing ambient ozone pollution may reduce the burden of both diseases.

High-performance five-ring-fused organic semiconductors for field-effect transistors.

Organic molecular semiconductors have been paid great attention due to their advantages of low-temperature processability, low fabrication cost, good flexibility, and excellent electronic properties. As a typical example of five-ring-fused organic semiconductors, a single crystal of pentacene shows a high mobility of up to 40 cm2 V-1 s-1, indicating its potential application in organic electronics. However, the photo- and optical instabilities of pentacene make it unsuitable for commercial applications. But, molecular engineering, for both the five-ring-fused building block and side chains, has been performed to improve the stability of materials as well as maintain high mobility. Here, several groups (thiophenes, pyrroles, furans, etc.) are introduced to design and replace one or more benzene rings of pentacene and construct novel five-ring-fused organic semiconductors. In this review article, ∼500 five-ring-fused organic prototype molecules and their derivatives are summarized to provide a general understanding of this catalogue material for application in organic field-effect transistors. The results indicate that many five-ring-fused organic semiconductors can achieve high mobilities of more than 1 cm2 V-1 s-1, and a hole mobility of up to 18.9 cm2 V-1 s-1 can be obtained, while an electron mobility of 27.8 cm2 V-1 s-1 can be achieved in five-ring-fused organic semiconductors. The HOMO-LUMO levels, the synthesis process, the molecular packing, and the side-chain engineering of five-ring-fused organic semiconductors are analyzed. The current problems, conclusions, and perspectives are also provided.

α-Synuclein Aggregates in the Nigro-Striatal Dopaminergic Pathway Impair Fine Movement: Partial Reversal by the Adenosine A2A Receptor Antagonist.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized pathologically by abnormal aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) in the brain and clinically by fine movement deficits at the early stage, but the roles of α-Syn and associated neural circuits and neuromodulator bases in the development of fine movement deficits in PD are poorly understood, in part due to the lack of appropriate behavioral testing paradigms and PD models without motor confounding effects. Here, we coupled two unique behavioral paradigms with two PD models to reveal the following: (i) Focally injecting α-Syn fibrils into the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and the transgenic expression of A53T-α-Syn in the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN, PITX3-IRES2-tTA/tetO-A53T mice) selectively impaired forelimb fine movements induced by the single-pellet reaching task. (ii) Injecting α-Syn fibers into the SN suppressed the coordination of cranial and forelimb fine movements induced by the sunflower seed opening test. (iii) Treatments with the adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) antagonist KW6002 reversed the impairment of forelimb and cranial fine movements induced by α-Syn aggregates in the SN. These findings established a causal role of α-Syn in the SNc-DLS dopaminergic pathway in the development of forelimb and cranial fine movement deficits and suggest a novel therapeutic strategy to improve fine movements in PD by A2AR antagonists.

Balancing Activity and Stability in Spinel Cobalt Oxides through Geometrical Sites Occupation towards Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution.

Designing active and stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts are vitally important to various energy conversion devices. Herein, we introduce elements Ni and Mn into (Co)tet (Co2 )oct O4 nanosheets (NSs) at fixed geometrical sites, including Mnoct , Nioct , and Nitet , to optimize the initial geometrical structure and modulate the CoCo2 O4 surface from oxygen-excess to oxygen-deficiency. The pristine (Ni,Mn)-(Co)tet (Co2 )oct O4 NSs shows excellent OER activity with an overpotential of 281.6 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 . Moreover, without damaging their initial activity, the activated (Act)-(Ni,Mn)-(Co)tet (Co2 )oct O4 NSs after surface reconstruction exhibit long-term stability of 100 h under 10 mA cm-2 , 50 mA cm-2 , or even 100 mA cm-2 . The optimal balance between electroactivity and stability leads to remarkable OER performances, providing a pivotal guideline for designing ideal electrocatalysts and inspiring more works to focus on the dynamic change of each occupation site component.

PD-L1 Expression and Intra-Tumoral CD8+ T Lymphocytes in Esophageal Carcinosarcoma.

We detected PD-L1 and intra-tumoral CD8+ T lymphocytes (CD8+ TIL) in 19 patients with esophageal carcinosarcoma (ECS). The median follow-up period of these patients was 43 months, and the three- and five-year survival rates were 78.9 and 63.2%, respectively. No statistically significant correlation was observed between PD-L1 and CD8+ TIL in sarcomatous components(SC) (r = -0.262, p = 0.279) and epithelial carcinomatous (EC) (r = 0.055, p = 0.824). This study examined the immunological markers in ECS for the first time. PD-L1 is highly expressed in the SC and is associated with a poorer prognosis.

Dihydroartemisinin improves hypercholesterolemia in ovariectomized mice via enhancing vectorial transport of cholesterol and bile acids from blood to bile.

The increase of concentrations of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the serum of postmenopausal women is the important risk factor of the high morbidity of cardiovascular diseases of old women worldwide. To test the anti-hypercholesterolemia function of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) in postmenopausal women, ovariectomized (OVX) mice were generated, and DHA were administrated to OVX mice for 4 weeks. The blood and liver tissues were collected for biochemical and histological tests respectively. The mRNA and protein expression levels of genes related to metabolism and transport of cholesterol, bile acid and fatty acid in the liver or ileum were checked through qPCR and western blot. DHA could significantly reduce the high concentrations of TC and LDL-C in the serum and the lipid accumulation in the liver of ovariectomized mice. The expression of ABCG5/8 was reduced in liver of OVX mice, and DHA could up-regulate the expression of them. Genes of transport proteins for bile salt transport from blood to bile, including Slc10a1, Slco1b2 and Abcb11, were also significantly up-regulated by DHA. DHA also down-regulated the expression of Slc10a2 in the ileum of OVX mice to reduce the absorption of bile salts. Genes required for fatty acid synthesis and uptake, such as Fasn and CD36, were reduced in the liver of OVX mice, and DHA administration could significantly up-regulate the expression of them. These results demonstrated that DHA could improve hypercholesterolemia in OVX mice through enhancing the vectorial transport of cholesterol and bile acid from blood to bile.

Does electroacupuncture benefit mixed urinary incontinence? A systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

INTRODUCTIN AND HYPOTHESIS: Mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) comprises a combination of urgency and stress. The efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) for the treatment of MUI remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of EA in treating MUI. METHODS: We searched PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase, Web of Science, four Chinese databases, clinical research registration platforms, grey literature, and the reference lists of the selected studies. Risk of bias and quality were evaluated using the Revman 5.4 and Jadad scores. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 15.1 software. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was used to assess the stability of the results. RESULTS: Eight randomized controlled trials comprising 847 patients were included. The meta-analysis results showed that compared with antimuscarinic drugs plus pelvic floor muscle training, EA resulted in significantly less pad weight on the 1-h pad test and statistically significantly lower severity scores on the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form. The change in the 72-h incontinence episode frequency difference was not statistically significant, and there was no outcome of overall response rate and quality of life in this meta-analysis. Few adverse events occurred in the EA group. The TSA results suggested that the result of change from baseline in the 1-h pad test was stable and the evidence was conclusive. CONCLUSIONS: EA could be a potential treatment option for MUI and is relatively safe. Nevertheless, because of the limitations of this study, our conclusions should be interpreted with caution, and further studies are needed to confirm the comprehensive clinical efficacy and placebo effect of EA.

Technological characterization and flavor-producing potential of lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditional dry fermented sausages in northeast China.

Thirty-seven lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were isolated from traditional dry sausages collected from Northeast China, including Latilactobacillus sakei (29 strains), Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (4 strains), Latilactobacillus curvatus (2 strains), Weissella hellenica (1 strain), and Lactococcus lactis (1 strain). Some LAB strains had tolerance to high concentrations of sodium chloride (6%), sodium nitrite (150 mg/L NaNO2), and acid (pH 4.0). They showed good growth and acidification properties and antimicrobial activity. Among them, five LAB strains that exhibited the best technological properties were selected and inoculated in the sausage model to explore their roles in flavor development. The contents of total free amino acids (FAAs) decreased ranging from 109.11 mg/g to 58.06 mg/g. A total of 46 volatile compounds were identified and the contents of volatile compounds increased in the sausage model during fermentation. Partial least squares regression analysis showed that Lb. sakei HRB10, Lb. plantarum MDJ2, W. hellenica HRB6, and Lc. lactis HRB0 promoted the generation of FAAs and volatile compounds in the sausage model. These findings demonstrated that the autochthonous LAB species are promising for the production of sausage with better flavor and fermentation performance.

Protective Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM8610 against Acute Toxicity Caused by Different Food-Derived Forms of Cadmium in Mice.

Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental pollutant that is toxic to almost every human organ. Oral supplementation with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been reported to alleviate cadmium toxicity. However, research on the mitigation of cadmium toxicity by LAB is still limited to inorganic cadmium, which is not representative of the varied forms of cadmium ingested daily. In this study, different foodborne forms of cadmium were adopted to establish an in vivo toxicity model, including cadmium-glutathione, cadmium-citrate, and cadmium-metallothionein. The ability of Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM8610 to reduce the toxic effects of these forms of cadmium was further investigated. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics technologies based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were adopted for the exploration of relevant protective mechanisms. The results demonstrated that the consumption of CCFM8610 can reduce the content of cadmium in mice and relieve the oxidative stress caused by different food-derived forms of cadmium, indicating that CCFM8610 has a promising effect on the remediation of the toxic effects of cadmium food poisoning. Meanwhile, protective effects on gut microflora and serum metabolites might be an important mechanism for probiotics to alleviate cadmium toxicity. This study provides a theoretical basis for the application of L. plantarum CCFM8610 to alleviate human cadmium poisoning.

Treatment strategies for metastatic gastric cancer: chemotherapy, palliative surgery or radiotherapy?

Aim: This study explored whether chemotherapy combined with palliative surgery and/or radiotherapy is a possible treatment for metastatic gastric cancer. Materials & methods: Patients were divided into groups according to treatments. COX models were used to explore prognostic factors. Kaplan-Meier models and log-rank tests were used to analyze outcomes. Outcomes were analyzed before and after propensity score matching. Results: Chemotherapy combined with gastrectomy or metastasectomy prolongs the survival time compared with chemotherapy alone (p < 0.05). Chemotherapy combined with gastrectomy plus metastasectomy and/or radiation therapy also prolongs the survival time (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Chemotherapy combined with gastrectomy could be a more effective treatment for metastatic gastric cancer. Chemotherapy combined with gastrectomy plus metastasectomy and/or radiation therapy could also be a promising treatment.

Effect of dietary probiotic supplementation on intestinal microbiota and physiological conditions of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) under waterborne cadmium exposure.

The heavy metal cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous pollutant that exerts various toxic effects on aquatic animals. The biomagnifying effects of this non-essential element in the food chain also pose threats to human health. In this study, the protective effect of a dietary probiotic supplementation, Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM8610, on the intestinal microbiota and physiological conditions of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exposed to waterborne Cd was evaluated. Two hundred fish were divided into four groups, i.e., control, probiotic-only, Cd-only and Cd-plus-probiotic. The fish were exposed to waterborne Cd at a level of 1 mg L-1 for 4 weeks and the probiotic was administered twice daily at 108 CFU g-1 in the fish diet. Waterborne Cd exposure caused a profound decline in the gut microbial diversity and marked alterations in the composition of the microbiota. Dietary supplementation with L. plantarum CCFM8610 reversed the changes in the intestinal microbiota composition in the Cd-exposed fish and reduced the abundance of Flavobacterium and Pseudomonas. Compared with the Cd-only group, the probiotic treatment significantly promoted growth performance and prevented the death of the Cd-exposed fish. L. plantarum CCFM8610 supplementation also decreased Cd accumulation and alleviated oxidative stress in the tissues, and reversed the alterations in hemato-biochemical parameters in the blood of fish. The results suggest that L. plantarum CCFM8610 can be considered a safe dietary supplement for the prevention of Cd-exposure-induced problems in aquaculture and food safety.

Dietary Lactobacillus plantarum supplementation enhances growth performance and alleviates aluminum toxicity in tilapia.

We investigated the protection offered by the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM639 against waterborne Al exposure in tilapia. Fish were allocated to control, CCFM639-only, Al-only or Al plus CCFM639 groups. The fish were exposed to 2.73mg/L Al ions for 4 weeks. The probiotic was incorporated into the fish diet at 108 CFU/g and provided twice daily. Our results showed that L. plantarum CCFM639 significantly enhanced feed utilization, growth performance and antioxidant ability in the absence of waterborne Al exposure. When fish were exposed to Al, dietary supplementation with the strain effectively decreased the death rate and accumulation of Al in tissues, and enhanced growth performance. Moreover, Al-induced changes in hematobiochemical parameters and hepatic oxidative stress and histopathology were also alleviated. Therefore, L. plantarum CCFM639 may be a novel dietary supplement for fish to enhance growth performance and prevent aquaculture and food safety problems induced by Al pollution.

Diminished representational momentum for physical states in patients with depressive disorder.

The representational momentum for physical state changes refers to the fact that we remember objects as more changed in physical state than they actually were. It has been well documented that depressive disorder is associated with impairment of time perception. Thus, the present work was conducted with the aim to investigate the representational momentum for physical state changes in patients with depressive disorder, firstly. Forty patients with depressive disorder and forty-two healthy controls were administrated with the task of representational momentum for physical state changes and task of time perception. The stimulus comprises 10 videos showing object state changes (e.g., ice melting). During playing, the video would stop and immediately be obscured by mosaics at a specific point. Participants select from three detection images (the exact frame of the video just be masked, the frame after that, and the frame before that) to test representational momentum and estimate the duration of the video in seconds to test time perception. The depressive group showed diminished representational momentum (i.e., lower scores on the task of representational momentum) than normal controls (U = 215.00, Z = -5.83, p < 0.001). In addition, the scores on the task of representational momentum were significantly positively related with the scores on the task of time perception among depressive group (r = 0.446, p = 0.004). The findings indicate that patients with depressive disorder may exhibit diminished representational momentum for physical states, which may be correlated with their impairment of time perception.