Antibacterial and gut health effects of Amomum tsao-ko in aquatic feed: A sustainable alternative to chemical antibiotics.

Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemarie (Zingiberaceae), an aromatic plant, has been considered to have diverse medicinal values and economic significance. It has been reported to possess antibacterial, antioxidant, and antidiabetic effects. With the increasing risk of diseases in aquaculture, there is a need for alternative solutions to chemical antibiotics. Plant extracts have shown promise as natural feed additives for aquatic animals. In this study, the antibacterial effect of Amomum tsao-ko crude extracts was evaluated using the Oxford cup method. The extracts exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis. Furthermore, the addition of Amomum tsao-ko to fish feed resulted in notable changes in the gut structure of zebrafish and tilapia. The length and morphology of intestinal villi were enhanced, promoting improved digestion. Analysis of the gut microbial community revealed that Amomum tsao-ko supplementation induced key changes in the gut microbial community composition of both zebrafish and tilapia. Notably, a 1% inclusion of Amomum tsao-ko resulted in a marked rise in Proteobacteria levels in zebrafish, which diminished at 10% dosage. The supplement elicited mixed reactions among other bacterial phyla like Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobiota. Fluctuations were also observed at the genus level, pointing to the concentration of Amomum tsao-ko playing a pivotal role in influencing the structure of intestinal bacteria. The findings of this study suggest that Amomum tsao-ko has antibacterial properties and can positively influence the gut health of fish. The potential use of Amomum tsao-ko as a natural feed additive holds promise for improving aquaculture practices and reducing reliance on chemical antibiotics. Further research is needed to explore the full potential and applications of Amomum tsao-ko in fish feed development.

Integrating comparative modeling and accelerated simulations reveals conformational and energetic basis of actomyosin force generation.

Muscle contraction is performed by arrays of contractile proteins in the sarcomere. Serious heart diseases, such as cardiomyopathy, can often be results of mutations in myosin and actin. Direct characterization of how small changes in the myosin-actin complex impact its force production remains challenging. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, although capable of studying protein structure-function relationships, are limited owing to the slow timescale of the myosin cycle as well as a lack of various intermediate structures for the actomyosin complex. Here, employing comparative modeling and enhanced sampling MD simulations, we show how the human cardiac myosin generates force during the mechanochemical cycle. Initial conformational ensembles for different myosin-actin states are learned from multiple structural templates with Rosetta. This enables us to efficiently sample the energy landscape of the system using Gaussian accelerated MD. Key myosin loop residues, whose substitutions are related to cardiomyopathy, are identified to form stable or metastable interactions with the actin surface. We find that the actin-binding cleft closure is allosterically coupled to the myosin motor core transitions and ATP-hydrolysis product release from the active site. Furthermore, a gate between switch I and switch II is suggested to control phosphate release at the prepowerstroke state. Our approach demonstrates the ability to link sequence and structural information to motor functions.

Analysis of the Correlation between Nutritional Status and Quality of Life of Patients with Gynaecological Ovarian Cancer during Postoperative Chemotherapy.

Ovarian cancer mortality is on the rise in China. Surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is the most extensively used treatment for tumour recovery. An excellent nutritional condition prior and throughout treatment serves to improve the quality of life and, as a result, the treatment result. The goal of this research was how diet affected the functioning standard of those living in carcinoma who were receiving postoperative treatment. BMI was utilised to evaluate nutrition, accompanied by albuminemia, prealbuminemia, and serum C-reactive protein, that is used to evaluate excessive catabolism. The QLQ-C30 questionnaire assessed standard of living. The performance status of the patient is decided with the help of the WHO performance scale for cancer patients. The study identified the statistically significant relationship between the performance status and hypercatabolism in the global health (quality of life) of the patient. While body mass index is often considered as a standard for assessment of nutritional status, it has affected only the cognitive function of the patient. In this study, we have concluded that in addition to direct measurement of the BMI, other clinical parameters such as serum CRP should be considered to get a better outcome of chemotherapy.