Dietary Clostridium butyricum and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 modulate bone metabolism of broilers through the gut-brain axis.

Leg disorders have become increasingly common in broilers, leading to lower meat quality and major economic losses. This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OH-D3) on bone development by comparing growth performance, tibial parameters, Ca and P contents of tibial ash, bone development-related indicators' level, and cecal short-chain fatty acids in Cobb broilers. All birds were divided into four treatment groups, which birds fed either a basal diet (Con), basal diet + 75 mg chlortetracycline/kg (Anti), basal diet + C. butyricum at 109 CFU/kg (Cb), basal diet + C. butyricum at 109 CFU/kg and 25-OH-D3 at 25 µg/kg (CbD), or basal diet + 25-OH-D3 at 25 µg/kg (CD). Our results suggest that the dietary supplementation in Cb, CbD, and CD significantly increased the body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG), and reduced the feed-to-weight ratio (F/G) at different stages of growth (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation in Cb, CbD, and CD prolonged (P < 0.05) the behavioral responses latency-to-lie (LTL) time, reduced (P < 0.05) the levels of osteocalcin (BGP) and peptide tyrosine (PYY), and increased (P < 0.05) serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA). Treatment with Cb increased (P < 0.05) the levels of acetic acid, isobutyric acid, butyric acid, and isovaleric acid compared with those in Con group. The cecal metagenome showed that Alistipes spp. were significantly more abundant in Cb, CbD, and CD groups (P < 0.05). A total of 12 metabolic pathways were significantly affected by supplementation, including the signaling pathways of glucagon, insulin, and PI3K-AKT; primary and secondary bile acid biosynthesis; and P-type Ca 2+ transporters (P < 0.05). Hence, the CbD supplementation modulates bone metabolism by regulating the mediators of gut-brain axis, which may inform strategies to prevent leg diseases and improve meat quality in broilers.

Fast, high-quality, and unshielded 0.2 T low-field mobile MRI using minimal hardware resources.

OBJECTIVE: To propose a deep learning-based low-field mobile MRI strategy for fast, high-quality, unshielded imaging using minimal hardware resources. METHODS: Firstly, we analyze the correlation of EMI signals between the sensing coil and the MRI coil to preliminarily verify the feasibility of active EMI shielding using a single sensing coil. Then, a powerful deep learning EMI elimination model is proposed, which can accurately predict the EMI components in the MRI coil signals using EMI signals from at least one sensing coil. Further, deep learning models with different task objectives (super-resolution and denoising) are strategically stacked for multi-level post-processing to enable fast and high-quality low-field MRI. Finally, extensive phantom and brain experiments were conducted on a home-built 0.2 T mobile brain scanner for the evaluation of the proposed strategy. RESULTS: 20 healthy volunteers were recruited to participate in the experiment. The results show that the proposed strategy enables the 0.2 T scanner to generate images with sufficient anatomical information and diagnostic value under unshielded conditions using a single sensing coil. In particular, the EMI elimination outperforms the state-of-the-art deep learning methods and numerical computation methods. In addition, 2 × super-resolution (DDSRNet) and denoising (SwinIR) techniques enable further improvements in imaging speed and quality. DISCUSSION: The proposed strategy enables low-field mobile MRI scanners to achieve fast, high-quality imaging under unshielded conditions using minimal hardware resources, which has great significance for the widespread deployment of low-field mobile MRI scanners.

Identification and molecular docking of xanthine oxidase and α-glucosidase inhibitors in Opuntia ficus-indica fruit.

Opuntia ficus-indica fruit (OFI) is rich in bioactive compounds, which can promote human health. In this work, the purified OFI extract was prepared from OFI and its bioactivities were investigated. Xanthine oxidase (XOD) and α-glucosidase (α-Glu) inhibitors of the purified OFI extract were screened and identified by bio-affinity ultrafiltration combined with UPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS technology. The inhibitory effect of these inhibitors on enzymes were verified, and the potential mechanism of action and binding sites of inhibitors with enzymes were revealed based on molecular docking. The results showed that the total phenolic content of the purified OFI extract was 355.03 mg GAE/g DW, which had excellent antioxidant activity. Additionally, the extract had a certain inhibitory effect on XOD (IC50 = 199.00 ± 0.14 µg/mL) and α-Glu (IC50 = 159.67 ± 0.01 µg/mL). Seven XOD inhibitors and eight α-Glu inhibitors were identified. Furthermore, XOD and α-Glu inhibition experiments in vitro confirmed that inhibitors such as chlorogenic acid, taxifolin, and naringenin had significant inhibitory effects on XOD and α-Glu. The molecular docking results indicated that inhibitors could bind to the corresponding enzymes and had strong binding force. These findings demonstrate that OFI contains potential substances for the treatment of hyperuricemia and hyperglycemia.

Lactic acid bacteria fermentation improves physicochemical properties, bioactivity, and metabolic profiles of Opuntia ficus-indica fruit juice.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation has been proven to promote human health. The effect of different LAB fermentation on the quality of Opuntia ficus-indica fruit juice (OFIJ) was investigated. OFIJ was an excellent substrate for fermentation, with colony counts of more than 8 log CFU/mL after fermentation. The fermentation altered the acid and sugar contents. Simultaneously, the total phenolic and anthocyanin contents significantly increased. Antioxidant activity enhanced significantly in Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HNU082-fermented OFIJ, primarily in ABTS+ (increased by 16.81%) and DPPH (increased by 23.62%) free radical scavenging ability. Lacticaseibacillus paracasei HNU502-fermented OFIJ showed the most potent inhibition of xanthine oxidase (IC50 = 31.01 ± 3.88 mg TAC/L). Analysis of volatile and non-volatile compounds indicated that fermentation changed the flavor quality and metabolic profiles and caused the most significant modifications in amino acid metabolism. These findings offer valuable information into processing of OFIJ, making it a great choice for functional foods.

Immunogenicity and safety of a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine (SYS6006) in healthy Chinese participants: A randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled phase 2 clinical trial.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccine enables quick upgrade of antigen sequence to combat emerging new variants. In an observer-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial, immunologically naïve 300 adults and 150 older participants were enrolled and randomized (1:1:1) to receive two doses of 20 µg or 30 µg of a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine (SYS6006) or placebo. Adverse events (AEs) were recorded through 30 days after the second dose. Live virus neutralizing antibody (Nab), S1 protein-specific binding antibody (S1-IgG) and cellular immunity were tested. Results showed that robust wild-type Nab response was elicited with geometric mean titers of 91.3 and 84.9 in the adults, and 74.0 and 115.9 in the elders, 14 days following the second dose (Day 35) in the 20-µg and 30-µg groups, respectively. All seroconverted for wild-type Nab except two participants. Nab against Omicron BA.5 was mild. Robust wild-type S1-IgG response was induced with geometric mean concentrations of 2751.0 and 3142.2 BAU/mL in adults, and 2474.1 and 2993.5 BAU/mL in elders at Day 35 in the 20-µg and 30-µg groups, respectively. S1-IgG against Omicron BA.2 was induced. Cellular immunity was elicited, particularly in enzyme-linked immunospot assay. The most frequent AEs were injection-site pain and fever. Most reported AEs were grade 1 or grade 2. The AE incidences were similar following the first dose and second dose. No vaccination-associated serious AE was reported. In conclusion, two-dose vaccination with SYS6006 demonstrated good safety, tolerability and immunogenicity in immunologically naïve healthy participants aged 18 years or more.

Multi-target field control for matrix gradient coils.

OBJECTIVE: Conventional single-target field control for matrix gradient coils will add control complexity in MRI spatial encoding, such as designing specialized fields and sequences. This complexity can be reduced by multi-target field control, which is realized by optimizing the coil structure according to target fields. METHODS: Based on the principle of multi-target field control, the X, Y and Z gradient fields can be set as target fields, and all coil elements can then be divided into three groups to generate these fields. An improved simulated annealing algorithm is proposed to optimize the coil element distribution of each group to generate the corresponding target field. In the improved simulated annealing process, two swapping modes are presented, and randomly selected with certain probabilities that are set to 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75, respectively. The flexibility of the final designed structure is demonstrated by a spherical harmonic basis up to the full second order with single-target field control. An experimental platform is built to measure the gradient fields generated by the designed structure with multi-target target control. RESULTS: With three probabilities of swapping modes, three similar coil element distributions are optimized, and their maximum magnetic field errors for generating X, Y and Z gradients are all below 5%. The structure selected for the final design is the one with a probability of 0.75, considering the coil performance and structural symmetry. The maximum error for all target fields generated by single-target field control is also below 5%. The experimental results show that the measured gradient fields along the axes have enough strength and high linearity. CONCLUSIONS: With the proposed improved simulated annealing algorithm and swapping modes, multi-target field control for matrix gradient coils is verified and achieved in this study by optimizing the coil element distribution. Moreover, this study provides a solution to simplify the complexity of controlling the matrix gradient coil in spatial encoding.

Functional characterization of two novel NKX2-1 frameshift variants that cause pulmonary surfactant dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: We aim to report two unrelated patients with pulmonary surfactant dysfunction (PSD) that carried two novel NKX2-1 frameshift variants, and evaluated the impact of these variants in vitro. METHODS: We enrolled children with PSD and NKX2-1 variants, and collected their clinical information and follow-up data. We constructed wild-type (WT) and variant NKX2-1 plasmids and transfected them into A549 and HEK293T cells. The functional characterization of variants was then evaluated by qRT-PCR, western blot, immunofluorescence, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and dual-luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: Two novel heterozygous frameshift variants of NKX2-1, i.e., c.705delC (Gly236Alafs*29) and c.313_316 dup (Asn106Lysfs*304), were identified in children from two unrelated families. We discerned attenuated mRNA and protein expression in the Asn106Lysfs*304 variant, and reduced DNA -binding as well as transcriptional activation capabilities in both variants. While the Asn106Lysfs*304 variant lost its synergistic interactions with PAX8 and TAZ, the Gly236Alafs*29 variant partially retained its residual transcriptional activation capabilities and synergistic interactions with PAX8 and TAZ. CONCLUSIONS: We reported on two children with two novel NKX2-1 frameshift variants. In vitro experiments revealed that the two frameshift variants have common and different mechanisms based on the loss or conservation of domains, which partially explained the phenotypical heterogeneity. IMPACT: Pulmonary surfactant dysfunction is a rare heterogeneous disease that exhibits a great burden on children's quality of life. We reported two novel NKX2-1 frameshift variants carried by two children with different clinical phenotypes, thus broadening our knowledge base of gene variations and phenotypes in NKX2-1. We performed an in vitro study and uncovered different pathogenic mechanisms underlying the actions of two novel variants, and thereby partially explained the mechanisms of phenotypical heterogeneity caused by NKX2-1 variants.

Efficient degradation of cellulosic ethanol wastewater by perovskite activation of Sr element A-site doped lanthanide copper chalcogenide materials.

The degradation of cellulosic ethanol wastewater by peroxymonosulfate (PMS) is one of the important methods to solve the environmental problems caused by it. In order to improve the degradation efficiency of cellulosic ethanol wastewater, the design of more catalytically active and stable chalcogenide catalysts has become a problem that needs to be solved nowadays. The application of foreign cations to replace the A- or B-site to increase the oxygen vacancy of the chalcocite catalyst to improve the efficiency of chalcocite catalytic degradation of wastewater has received much attention. In this work, the perovskite material LaCuO3 was synthesized using a citric acid-sol-gel method, and the novel material La1-xSrxCuO3 was prepared by doping of Sr element at the A position. In order to prepare catalytic materials with better performance, this study carried out performance-optimized degradation experiments on the prepared materials and determined that the catalytic efficiency of La0.5Sr0.5CuO3 prepared under the conditions of the complexing agent dosage of 1:2, the gel temperature of 80 °C, and the calcination temperature of 700 °C was better than that of the catalytic materials prepared under other conditions. The prepared material has good recycling function; after four times recycling, the removal rate of pollutant COD is still more than 85%. This work provides a new synthesis method of perovskite material with good recycling function and high catalytic efficiency for the degradation technology of cellulosic ethanol wastewater.

Effects of three different plant-derived polysaccharides on growth performance, immunity, antioxidant function, and cecal microbiota of broilers.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the effects of dietary plant polysaccharides on growth performance, immune status and intestinal health in broilers. We randomly divided 960 one-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks into four groups. The control (CON) group was fed a basal diet, and the remaining groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 1000 mg kg-1 Ginseng polysaccharide (GPS), Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), or Salvia miltiorrhiza polysaccharide (SMP) for 42 days. RESULTS: Dietary supplementation with SMP significantly increased body weight (BW) at 21 and 42 days of age, average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) during the starter and whole experimental period, decreased the concentrations of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and malondialdehyde (MDA), increased the levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) and catalase (CAT) activity in the serum (P < 0.05). GPS, APS, and SMP supplementation increased serum levels of immunoglobulins, activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and cecal concentrations of acetic acid and propionic acid of broilers (P < 0.05). Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing results showed that the relative abundance of Firmicutes was decreased while the relative abundance of Bacteroidota, Alistipes, and Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group were increased (P < 0.05) in the GPS, APS, and SMP groups compared with the CON group. CONCLUSION: Dietary GPS, APS, and SMP supplementation could improve growth performance, enhance immune function by increasing serum immunoglobulin and regulating cytokines, improve antioxidant function by increasing serum antioxidant enzyme activity, increase volatile fatty acid levels and improve the microbial composition in the cecum of broilers. Dietary SMP supplementation had the optimal effect in this study. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Electroacupuncture for hot flashes in early postmenopause: A study protocol for a randomized sham-controlled trial.

Introduction: Many early postmenopausal women experience hot flashes (HFs). Electroacupuncture (EA) is a safe and effective therapy for menopause-related symptoms. However, there are few rigorous clinical trials on this topic. This randomized controlled trial is designed to explore the feasibility and efficacy of EA in the treatment of early postmenopausal HF. Methods: This study is a randomized, controlled trial involving 72 early postmenopausal patients. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to the EA or sham acupuncture (SA) group. The acupuncture points that will be used are Hegu (LI4), Fuliu (KI7), Taixi (KI3), Shenshu (BL23), Guanyuan (CV4), and Sanyinjiao (SP6). Participants in each group will receive 18 acupuncture sessions over 6 weeks (three times per week). The primary outcome is the hot-flash score at the end of the 6 week of intervention. Secondary outcome measures are the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Menopause-Specific Quality of Life, Menopause Rating Scale, Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Score Scale, and estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and anti-Mullerian hormone levels. Safety will be assessed at every visit. Conclusion: This prospective trial will evaluate the efficacy of EA in the treatment of HFs among early postmenopausal women. Our results will provide additional knowledge for clinicians in the treatment of HFs.

Genome-wide association studies using multi-models and multi-SNP datasets provide new insights into pasmo resistance in flax.

Introduction: Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is an economically important crop due to its oil and fiber. However, it is prone to various diseases, including pasmo caused by the fungus Septoria linicola. Methods: In this study, we conducted field evaluations of 445 flax accessions over a five-year period (2012-2016) to assess their resistance to pasmo A total of 246,035 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used for genetic analysis. Four statistical models, including the single-locus model GEMMA and the multi-locus models FarmCPU, mrMLM, and 3VmrMLM, were assessed to identify quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) associated with pasmo resistance. Results: We identified 372 significant QTNs or 132 tag QTNs associated with pasmo resistance from five pasmo resistance datasets (PAS2012-PAS2016 and the 5-year average, namely PASmean) and three genotypic datasets (the all SNPs/ALL, the gene-based SNPs/GB and the RGA-based SNPs/RGAB). The tag QTNs had R2 values of 0.66-16.98% from the ALL SNP dataset, 0.68-20.54%from the GB SNP dataset, and 0.52-22.42% from the RGAB SNP dataset. Of these tag QTNs, 93 were novel. Additionally, 37 resistance gene analogs (RGAs)co-localizing with 39 tag QTNs were considered as potential candidates for controlling pasmo resistance in flax and 50 QTN-by-environment interactions(QEIs) were identified to account for genes by environmental interactions. Nine RGAs were predicted as candidate genes for ten QEIs. Discussion: Our results suggest that pasmo resistance in flax is polygenic and potentially influenced by environmental factors. The identified QTNs provide potential targets for improving pasmo resistance in flax breeding programs. This study sheds light on the genetic basis of pasmo resistance and highlights the importance of considering both genetic and environmental factors in breeding programs for flax.

Effect of Electroacupuncture Versus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Perimenopausal Insomnia: Protocol for a Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Perimenopausal insomnia (PMI) has a high global incidence, which is common in middle-aged women and is more severe than nonmenopausal insomnia. Effective treatments with fewer side effects and more consistent repeatable results are needed. Acupuncture, a therapy based on traditional Chinese medicine, is safe and may be effective for PMI. It is widely accepted in Western countries, and evidence supports the use of acupuncture as a main or supplementary therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is also used to improve sleep quality. It has structured sessions and has been recommended as a first-line treatment for insomnia (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia [CBT-I]) by the American Association of Physicians. However, few randomized controlled trials have been conducted to compare the effectiveness of these 2 therapies. This study will be performed in perimenopausal women with insomnia to determine the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) versus CBT-I. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the preliminary effectiveness and safety of EA and CBT-I for PMI through a randomized controlled noninferiority study design. METHODS: This study is designed as an assessor-blinded, noninferiority, randomized controlled trial. A total of 160 eligible participants with PMI will be randomly divided into 2 groups to receive either EA or CBT-I. Participants in the EA group will receive electroacupuncture for 8 weeks. The intervention will be delivered 3 times weekly for a total of 12 sessions and 2 times weekly for the next 4 weeks. Meanwhile, participants in the control group will undergo CBT-I (once a week) for 8 weeks. Treatment will use 7 main acupoints (GV20, DU24, EX-HN3, EX-HN18, EX-CA1, RN6, and RN4) and an extra 4 acupoints based on syndrome differentiation. The primary outcome is the Insomnia Severity Index. The secondary outcome measures are the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; Menopause-Specific Quality of Life; Menopause Rating Scale; Hamilton Depression Scale; Hamilton Anxiety Scale; hot flash score; and the level of estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone in serum. Sleep architecture will be assessed using polysomnograms. RESULTS: Participants are currently being recruited. The first participant was enrolled in January 2023, marking the initiation of the recruitment phase. The recruitment process is expected to continue until January 2025, at which point data collection will commence. CONCLUSIONS: This trial represents a pioneering effort to investigate the efficacy and safety of EA and CBT-I as interventions for PMI. It is noteworthy that this study is conducted solely within a single center and involves Chinese participants, which is a limitation. Nonetheless, the findings of this study are expected to contribute valuable insights for clinicians engaged in the management of PMI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2300070981; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojEN.html?proj=194561. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/51767.

Characteristics of brittle cornea syndrome by multimodal imaging modalities: a case report.

BACKGROUND: A report of a Brittle cornea syndrome (BCS) case with bluish scleral discoloration, keratoglobus, and myopia based on multimodal imaging modalities including in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM), high-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT) and scheimpflug corneal densitometry analysis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 36-year-old Chinese female patient presented with significant bluish discoloration of the sclera in both eyes, extreme corneal thinning with increased corneal curvature, increased central corneal densitometry, and nystagmus. She also had scoliosis, severe osteoporosis, and thyroid disease. CONCLUSIONS: Timely diagnosis, early detection, and detailed follow-up are essential for BCS. There has been no report of a BCS evaluation performed by IVCM and corneal densitometry methods thus far in the literature. Furthermore, multimodal imaging can offer a more comprehensive view of BCS and contribute to a deeper understanding of the disease. Interestingly, this is a rare case of BCS in an adult with good vision, an intact cornea, and nystagmus.

Effects of Bacillus licheniformis on the Growth Performance, Antioxidant Capacity, Ileal Morphology, Intestinal Short Chain Fatty Acids, and Colonic Microflora in Piglets Challenged with Lipopolysaccharide.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Bacillus licheniformis (BL) on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, ileal morphology, intestinal fecal short-chain fatty acids, and microflora of weaned piglets challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Piglets were assigned into three groups: basal diet (Con), a basal diet with added 109 CFU B. licheniformis/kg (BLl), and a basal diet with added 1010 CFU B. licheniformis/kg (BLh). On day 28, BLh piglets were intraperitoneally injected with LPS (CBL) and sterilized saline water (BL), Con piglets were injected with LPS (LPS) and sterilized saline water (Con), with the injections being administered for three consecutive days. The average daily gain significantly increased from day 1 to day 28 and the feed: gain ratio decreased with BL supplementation compared with the Con group. Supplementation with BLl and BLh reduced the diarrhea rate in piglets. Serum catalase activity increased and malondialdehyde concentration decreased in the CBL treatment group compared with the LPS treatment group. Both BL and CBL treatments increased the ileal villus length/crypt depth ratio compared with Con and LPS treatments. BL administration significantly increased colonic propionic and isobutyric acid concentrations compared with Con treatment. Both BL and CBL piglets had significantly increased fecal acetic, propionic, and butyric acid levels compared with LPS piglets. Analysis of the colonic microbial metagenome showed that Prevotella species were the predominant bacteria in piglets treated with BL and CBL. The CBL-treated piglets had higher scores for lysine biosynthesis, arginine biosynthesis, sulfur relay system, and histidine metabolism. BL-treated piglets had higher scores for glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis-keratan sulfate, oxidative phosphorylation, and pyruvate and carbon metabolism.

Comparison of the Effects of Yucca saponin, Yucca schidigera, and Quillaja saponaria on Growth Performance, Immunity, Antioxidant Capability, and Intestinal Flora in Broilers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Yucca saponin (YSa), Yucca schidigera (YS), and Quillaja Saponaria (QS) on growth performance, nitrogen metabolism, immune ability, antioxidant capability, and intestinal flora of yellow-feather broilers. This study randomly divided a total of 480 1-day yellow-feather broilers into 4 treatment groups. Factors in the 4 groups included CON group (basic diet), YSa group (basic diet mixed with 500 mg/kg YSa), YS group (basic diet mixed with 500 mg/kg YS), and QS group (basic diet mixed with 500 mg/kg QS). Throughout the 56-day study period, YSa, YS, and QS groups had higher average daily gain in broilers than the CON group (p < 0.01). The YS group had a lower feed gain ratio (F: G) in broilers than the CON group (p < 0.05). YSa, YS, and QS showed increased serum immunoglobin A (IgA), immunoglobin Y (IgY), immunoglobin M (IgM), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels; enhanced acetic acid, butyric acid, and valeric acid levels of cecal content; and reduced contents of ammonia nitrogen, urea nitrogen, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum in broilers (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of Lachnoclostridium in the QS group was decreased compared with that in the CON group (p < 0.05). Higher IgA and IgY sera contents were observed in the YS group compared to the YSa and QS groups (p < 0.05). In contrast with the QS group, the serum IL-6 concentration of the YS group was reduced (p < 0.05). In conclusion, YSa, YS, and QS promoted growth performance, nitrogen metabolism, immunity, antioxidant capability, and intestinal flora in broilers. Through the comparison of YSa, YS, and QS, it was found that YS is more suitable as a feed additive to ameliorate the healthy growth of broilers.

Dietary bamboo leaf flavonoids improve quality and microstructure of broiler meat by changing untargeted metabolome.

BACKGROUND: Dietary bamboo leaf flavonoids (BLFs) are rarely used in poultry production, and it is unknown whether they influence meat texture profile, perceived color, or microstructure. RESULTS: A total of 720 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were supplemented with a basal diet with 20 mg bacitracin/kg, 50 mg BLFs/kg, or 250 mg BLFs/kg or without additions. Data showed that the dietary BLFs significantly (P < 0.05) changed growth performance and the texture profile. In particular, BLFs increased birds' average daily gain and average daily feed intake, decreased the feed:gain ratio and mortality rate, improved elasticity of breast meat, enhanced the gumminess of breast and leg meat, and decreased the hardness of breast meat. Moreover, a significant (P < 0.05) increase in redness (a*) and chroma (c*) of breast meat and c* and water-holding capacity of leg meat was found in BLF-supplemented broilers compared with control broilers. In addition, BLFs supplementation significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the ß-sheet ratio and serum malondialdehyde and increased the ß-turn ratio of protein secondary structure, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase of breast meat and total antioxidant capacity and catalase of serum. Based on the analysis of untargeted metabolome, BLFs treatment considerably altered 14 metabolites of the breast meat, including flavonoids, amino acids, and organic acids, as well as phenolic and aromatic compounds. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary BLFs supplementation could play a beneficial role in improving meat quality and sensory color in the poultry industry by changing protein secondary structures and modulating metabolites.

Optimization design of a permanent magnet used for a low field (0.2 T) movable MRI system.

OBJECTIVE: To design a lightweight permanent magnet for a lowfield movable head imaging MRI system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To reduce the weight of the magnet, the pole pieces, anti-eddy current plates, and shimming rings were removed, and the distance between the two vertical yokes was shortened as much as possible. To compensate for the magnetic field deformation caused by the shortened distance between two vertical iron yokes, two side magnetic poles were added to the vertical yokes. The magnetic field distributions in magnetic poles, the iron yoke, and the spherical imaging region were simulated. Phantom and in vivo head imaging were conducted with a lowfield movable MRI prototype scanner equipped with the proposed permanent magnet. RESULTS: A permanent magnet with a center field of 0.19815 T, a homogeneity of 46 ppm over the 20 cm spherical imaging region, and a weight of 654 kg have been achieved. Acceptable images of a phantom and a human brain have been acquired with the prototype MRI scanner. DISCUSSION: The proposed permanent magnet design significantly reduces the magnet's weight compared with the conventional magnet structure and shows promise in promoting the development of lowfield compact MRI systems.

Punicalin attenuates LPS-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting inflammatory cytokine production and MAPK/NF-κB signaling in mice.

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Novel therapies interfering with the inflammatory response has been an area of focus for infectious disease treatment. Punicalin has shown strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties; however, its effect in ALI has not been previously explored. Purpose: To investigate the effects of punicalin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods: LPS (10 mg/kg) was administered intratracheally to create the ALI model in mice. Punicalin (10 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally shortly after LPS to investigate survival rate, lung tissue pathological injury, oxidative stress, levels of inflammatory cytokines in BALF and lung tissue, neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and its effects on NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. In vitro studies were performed to evaluate the inflammatory cytokine release and NET formation in LPS-induced (1 µg/ml) and punicalin-treated mouse neutrophils derived from the bone marrow. Results: In vivo, punicalin reduced mortality, lung injury score, lung wet-to-dry (W/D) weight ratio, protein concentrations in BALF and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in lung tissues, and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in lung tissues of LPS-induced ALI mice. Increased secretion of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 in the BALF and the lungs of ALI mice was reversed by punicalin, whereas IL-10 was upregulated. Neutrophil recruitment and NET formation were also decreased by punicalin. Inhibition of NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways was observed in punicalin-treated ALI mice. In vitro co-incubation with punicalin (50 µg/ml) inhibited the production of inflammatory cytokines and NET formation in LPS-treated neutrophils derived from mouse bone marrow. Conclusion: Punicalin reduces inflammatory cytokine production, prevents neutrophil recruitment and NET formation, and inhibits the activation of NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways in LPS-induced ALI.

Construction of a TiO2/BiOCl heterojunction for enhanced solar photocatalytic oxidation of nitric oxide.

TiO2/BiOCl heterojunction photocatalysts with different molar ratios (Ti : Bi) were synthesized by a simple solvothermal method. Various spectroscopic techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence (PL) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) were used to characterize the prepared photocatalysts. The photocatalytic activity of the catalysts was investigated by removing low concentrations of nitrogen oxides. The characterization results show that the TiO2/BiOCl composite photocatalyst exhibits superior visible light response performance than pure BiOCl and TiO2. The optimized TiO2/BiOCl heterojunction with a Ti : Bi molar ratio of 4 : 1 has the best photocatalytic performance. The removal rate of nitrogen oxides of the composite photocatalyst can reach 75%, which is 2.34 times higher than that of pure BiOCl. The observed photocatalytic degradation activity of nitrogen oxides outperforms current state-of-the-art functional photocatalysts. The TiO2/BiOCl composite photocatalyst has a larger specific surface area, stronger visible light absorption and higher charge separation efficiency compared to other control samples, which contribute to the enhanced photocatalytic activity. The experimental results indicate that the combination of TiO2 with BiOCl is a promising technique to design visible light-responsive photocatalysts.

Thin Film Nanocomposite Membranes Based on Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8/Halloysite Nanotube Composites.

Thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes have proven their unrivaled value, as they can combine the advantages of different materials and furnish membranes with improved selectivity and permeability. The development of TFN membranes has been severely limited by the poor dispersion of the nanoparticles and the weak adhesion between the nanoparticles and the polymer matrix. In this study, to address the poor dispersion of nanoparticles in TFN membranes, we proposed a new combination of m-ZIF-8 and m-HNTs, wherein the ZIF-8 and HNTs were modified with poly (sodium p-styrenesulfonate) to enhance their dispersion in water. Furthermore, the hydropathic properties of the membranes can be well controlled by adjusting the content of m-ZIF-8 and m-HNTs. A series of modified m-ZIF-8/m-HNT/PAN membranes were prepared to modulate the dye/salt separation performance of TFN membranes. The experimental results showed that our m-ZIF-8/m-HNT/PAN membranes can elevate the water flux significantly up to 42.6 L m-2 h-1 MPa-1, together with a high rejection of Reactive Red 49 (more than 80%). In particular, the optimized NFM-7.5 membrane that contained 7.5 mg of HNTs and 2.5 mg of ZIF-8 showed a 97.1% rejection of Reactive Red 49 and 21.3% retention of NaCl.