Recent advances and challenges in the interaction between myofibrillar proteins and flavor substances.

Myofibrillar proteins are an important component of proteins. Flavor characteristics are the key attributes of food quality. The ability of proteins to bind flavor is one of their most fundamental functional properties. The dynamic balance of release and retention of volatile flavor compounds in protein-containing systems largely affects the sensory quality and consumer acceptability of foods. At present, research on flavor mainly focuses on the formation mechanism of flavor components, while there are few reports on the release and perception of flavor components. This review introduces the composition and structure of myofibrillar proteins, the classification of flavor substances, the physical binding and chemical adsorption of myofibrillar proteins and volatile flavor substances, as well as clarifies the regulation law of flavor substances from the viewpoint of endogenous flavor characteristics and exogenous environment factors, to provide a theoretical reference for the flavor regulation of meat products.

Endothelial POFUT1 controls injury-induced liver fibrosis by repressing fibrinogen synthesis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: NOTCH signaling in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) regulates liver fibrosis, a pathological feature of chronic liver diseases. POFUT1 is an essential regulator of NOTCH signaling. Here, we investigated the role of LSEC-expressed POFUT1 in liver fibrosis. METHODS: Endothelial-specific Pofut1 knockout mice were generated and experimental liver fibrosis was induced by chronic carbon tetrachloride exposure or common bile duct ligation. Liver samples were assessed by ELISA, histology, electron microscopy, immunostaining and RNA in situ hybridization. LSECs and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were isolated for gene expression analysis by RNA sequencing, qPCR, and western blotting. Signaling crosstalk between LSECs and HSCs was investigated by treating HSCs with supernatant from LSEC cultures. Liver single-cell RNA sequencing datasets from patients with cirrhosis and healthy individuals were analyzed to evaluate the clinical relevance of gene expression changes observed in mouse studies. RESULTS: POFUT1 loss promoted injury-induced LSEC capillarization and HSC activation, leading to aggravated liver fibrosis. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that POFUT1 deficiency upregulated fibrinogen expression in LSECs. Consistently, fibrinogen was elevated in LSECs of patients with cirrhosis. HSCs treated with supernatant from LSECs of Pofut1 null mice showed exacerbated activation compared to those treated with supernatant from control LSECs, and this effect was attenuated by knockdown of fibrinogen or by pharmacological inhibition of fibrinogen receptor signaling, altogether suggesting that LSEC-derived fibrinogen induced the activation of HSCs. Mechanistically, POFUT1 loss augmented fibrinogen expression by enhancing NOTCH/HES1/STAT3 signaling. CONCLUSIONS: Endothelial POFUT1 prevents injury-induced liver fibrosis by repressing the expression of fibrinogen, which functions as a profibrotic paracrine signal to activate HSCs. Therapies targeting the POFUT1/fibrinogen axis offer a promising strategy for the prevention and treatment of fibrotic liver diseases. IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS: Paracrine signals produced by liver vasculature play a major role in the development of liver fibrosis, which is a pathological hallmark of most liver diseases. Identifying those paracrine signals is clinically relevant in that they may serve as therapeutic targets. In this study, we discovered that genetic deletion of Pofut1 aggravated experimental liver fibrosis in mouse models. Moreover, fibrinogen was identified as a downstream target repressed by Pofut1 in liver endothelial cells and functioned as a novel paracrine signal that drove liver fibrosis. In addition, fibrinogen was found to be relevant to cirrhosis and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for this devastating human disease.

Williams-Beuren syndrome in pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A rare case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by hemizygous microdeletion of contiguous genes on chromosome 7q11.23. Although the phenotype features extensive heterogeneity in severity and performance, WBS is not considered to be a predisposing factor for cancer development. Currently, hematologic cancers, mainly Burkitt lymphoma, are rarely reported in patients with WBS. Here in, we report a unique case of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a male child with WBS. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of this case receiving chemotherapy were analyzed. This is a retrospective study. RESULTS: The patient, who exhibited a typical WBS phenotype and presented with hemorrhagic spots. Chromosomal genome-wide chip analysis (CMA) revealed abnormalities on chromosomes 7 and 9. The fusion gene STIL-TAL1 and mutations in BCL11B, NOTCH1, and USP7 have also been found and all been associated with the occurrence of T-cell leukemia. The patient responded well to the chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of WBS in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We want to emphasize that the occurrence of leukemia in this patient might be related to the loss of 7q11.23 and microdeletion of 9p21.3 (including 3 TSGs), but the relationship between WBS and malignancy remains unclear. Further studies are required to clarify the relationship between WBS and malignancy.

Identification of copy number variations among fetuses with isolated ultrasound soft markers in pregnant women not of advanced maternal age.

BACKGROUND: Pathogenic (P) copy number variants (CNVs) may be associated with second-trimester ultrasound soft markers (USMs), and noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) can enable interrogate the entire fetal genome to screening of fetal CNVs. This study evaluated the clinical application of NIPS for detecting CNVs among fetuses with USMs in pregnant women not of advanced maternal age (AMA). RESULTS: Fetal aneuploidies and CNVs were identified in 6647 pregnant women using the Berry Genomics NIPS algorithm.Those with positive NIPS results underwent amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis. The NIPS and prenatal diagnosis results were analyzed and compared among different USMs. A total of 96 pregnancies were scored positive for fetal chromosome anomalies, comprising 37 aneuploidies and 59 CNVs. Positive predictive values (PPVs) for trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, and sex chromosome aneuploidies were 66.67%, 80.00%, 0%, and 30.43%, respectively. NIPS sensitivity for aneuploidies was 100%. For CNVs, the PPVs were calculated as 35.59% and false positive rate of 0.57%. There were six P CNVs, two successfully identified by NIPS and four missed, of which three were below the NIPS resolution limit and one false negative. The incidence of aneuploidies was significantly higher in fetuses with absent or hypoplastic nasal bone, while that of P CNVs was significantly higher in fetuses with aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA), compared with other groups. CONCLUSIONS: NIPS yielded a moderate PPV for CNVs in non-AMA pregnant women with fetal USM. However, NIPS showed limited ability in identifying P CNVs. Positive NIPS results for CNVs emphasize the need for further prenatal diagnosis. We do not recommend the use of NIPS for CNVs screening in non-AMA pregnant women with fetal USM, especially in fetuses with ARSA.

Reliability, validity, and simplification of the Chinese version of the Global Pain Scale in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Persistent pain is the most reported symptom in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, effective and brief assessment tools are lacking. We validated the Chinese version of the Global Pain Scale (C-GPS) in Chinese patients with RA and proposed a short version of the C-GPS (s-C-GPS). METHOD: The study was conducted using a face-to-face questionnaire survey with a multicenter cross-sectional design from March to December 2019. Patients aged > 18 years who met the RA diagnostic criteria were included. Based on the classical test theory (CTT) and the item response theory (IRT), we assessed the validity and reliability of the C-GPS and the adaptability of each item. An s-C-GPS was developed using IRT-based computerized adaptive testing (CAT) analytics. RESULTS: In total, 580 patients with RA (mean age, 51.04 ± 24.65 years; mean BMI, 22.36 ± 4.07 kg/m2), including 513 (88.4%) women, were included. Most participants lived in a suburb (49.3%), were employed (72.2%) and married (91.2%), reported 9-12 years of education (66.9%), and had partial medical insurance (57.8%). Approximately 88.1% smoked and 84.5% drank alcohol. Analysis of the CTT demonstrated that all items in the C-GPS were positively correlated with the total scale score, and the factor loadings of all these items were > 0.870. A significant positive relationship was found between the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the C-GPS. IRT analysis showed that discrimination of the C-GPS was between 2.271 and 3.312, and items 6, 8, 13, 14, and 16 provided a large amount of information. Based on the CAT and clinical practice, six items covering four dimensions were included to form the s-C-GPS, all of which had very high discrimination. The s-C-GPS positively correlated with the VAS. CONCLUSION: The C-GPS has good reliability and validity and can be used to evaluate pain in RA patients from a Chinese cultural background. The s-C-GPS, which contains six items, has good criterion validity and may be suitable for pain assessment in busy clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This cross-sectional study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1800020343), granted on December 25, 2018.

Polysaccharides from Chinese herbal medicine: a review on the hepatoprotective and molecular mechanism.

Polysaccharides, predominantly extracted from traditional Chinese medicinal herbs such as Lycium barbarum, Angelica sinensis, Astragalus membranaceus, Dendrobium officinale, Ganoderma lucidum, and Poria cocos, represent principal bioactive constituents extensively utilized in Chinese medicine. These compounds have demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory capabilities, especially anti-liver injury activities, while exhibiting minimal adverse effects. This review summarized recent studies to elucidate the hepatoprotective efficacy and underlying molecular mechanisms of these herbal polysaccharides. It underscored the role of these polysaccharides in regulating hepatic function, enhancing immunological responses, and improving antioxidant capacities, thus contributing to the attenuation of hepatocyte apoptosis and liver protection. Analyses of molecular pathways in these studies revealed the intricate and indispensable functions of traditional Chinese herbal polysaccharides in liver injury management. Therefore, this review provides a thorough examination of the hepatoprotective attributes and molecular mechanisms of these medicinal polysaccharides, thereby offering valuable insights for the advancement of polysaccharide-based therapeutic research and their potential clinical applications in liver disease treatment.

Maternal CHD7 gonosomal mosaicism in a fetus with CHARGE syndrome.

Parental mosaicism is important in families with de novo mutations. Herein, we report a case of fetal CHARGE syndrome (CS) with a CHD7 variant inherited from maternal CHD7 gonosomal mosaicism. The variant was detected through trio-based whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing. High-depth whole-exome sequencing was performed for the identification of parental mosaicism. A novel heterozygous CHD7 nonsense mutation (c.5794G>T/ p.E1932*) was detected in the tissue from the aborted fetus. The parents were wild-type, indicating that the mutation was a de novo variant. The mutation was suspected to be the cause of the fetal CS. However, high-depth whole-exome sequencing revealed maternal gonosomal mosaicism at a variant allele frequency of 3.2%-23.3%. The variant was identified in various tissues (peripheral blood, hair follicles, buccal epithelia, and pharyngeal epithelia) from the asymptomatic mother. We confirmed maternal CHD7 gonosomal mosaicism as a genetic cause of fetal CS. Our results emphasize the importance of clinical analysis in accurately determining the parents' status in detecting the CHD7 de novo variant in fetal CS, as this analysis has vital implications for evaluating the recurrence risk for genetic counseling.

Construction and Mechanism of IL-15-Based Coactivated Polymeric Micelles for NK Cell Immunotherapy.

Natural killer (NK) cells are an important contributor to cancer immunotherapy, but their antitumor efficacy remains suboptimal. While cytokine-based priming shows promise in enhancing NK-cell activity, its clinical translation faces many challenges, including coactivation of multiple cytokines, poor pharmacokinetics, and limited mechanistic understanding. Here, this work develops a polymeric micelle-based IL-15/IL-2 codelivery system (IL-15/2-PEG-PTMC) for NK-cell activation. In vivo studies demonstrate that half-life of IL-15 and IL-2 and the recruitment of NK cell within tumor tissue are significantly increased after PEG-PTMC loading. Coupled with the coactivation effect of IL-15 and IL-2 conferred by this system, it noticeably delays the growth of tumors compared to conventional NK-cell activation approach, that is free IL-15 and IL-2. It is also surprisingly found that cholesterol metabolism is highly involved in the NK cell activation by IL-15/2-PEG-PTMC. Following stimulation with IL-15/2-PEG-PTMC or IL-15, NK cells undergo a series of cholesterol metabolism reprogramming, which elevates the cholesterol levels on NK cell membrane. This in turn promotes the formation of lipid rafts and activates immune synapses, effectively contributing to the enhancement of NK cell's antitumor activity. It is believed that it will open a new avenue for improving the efficacy of NK cell immunotherapy by regulating cholesterol metabolism.

Optimizing postbiotic production through solid-state fermentation with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens J and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SN4 enhances antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities.

Background: Postbiotics are an emerging research interest in recent years and are fairly advanced compared to prebiotics and probiotics. The composition and function of postbiotics are closely related to fermentation conditions. Methods: In this study, we developed a solid-state fermentation preparation method for postbiotics with antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. The antibacterial activity was improved 3.62 times compared to initial fermentation conditions by using optimization techniques such as single factor experiments, Plackett-Burman design (PBD), steepest ascent method (SAM), and central composite design (CCD) methods. The optimized conditions were carried out with an initial water content of 50% for 8 days at 37°C and fermentation strains of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens J and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SN4 at a ratio of 1:1 with a total inoculum size of 8%. The optimized SSF medium content ratios of peptide powder, wheat bran, corn flour, and soybean meal were 4, 37.4, 30, and 28.6%, respectively. Results: Under these optimized conditions, postbiotics with a concentration of 25 mg/mL showed significant broad-spectrum antibacterial capabilities against Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus and strong antioxidant activity against ABTS, DPPH, and OH radicals. Moreover, the optimized postbiotics exhibited good anti-inflammatory ability for reducing nitric oxide (NO) secretion in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells in response to LPS-induced inflammation. Furthermore, the postbiotics significantly improved intestinal epithelial wound healing capabilities after mechanical injury, such as cell scratches in IPEC-J2 cells (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In brief, we developed postbiotics through optimized solid-state fermentation with potential benefits for gut health. Therefore, our findings suggested that the novel postbiotics could be used as potential functional food products for improving body health.

Maternal, neonatal, pregnancy outcome characteristics of pregnant women with high plasma cell-free DNA concentration in non-invasive prenatal screening: a retrospective analysis.

Objective: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a useful biomarker in various clinical contexts. Herein, we aimed to identify maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes associated with a failed NIPS test due to high cfDNA concentrations. Methods: A retrospective study of cases with high plasma cfDNA concentration in pregnant women in which NIPS test was performed (from 174,318 cases). We reported the detection of 126 cases (118 with complete clinical information) in which the high amount of cfDNA did not allow the performance of NIPS and study the possible causes of this result. Results: 622 (0.35%) of 174,318 pregnant women had failed the NIPS test, including 126 (20.3%) cases with high plasma cfDNA concentrations. The failed NIPS due to high plasma cfDNA concentrations was associated with maternal diseases and treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH). Further follow-up of the 118 pregnant women in the case group revealed that the pregnancy outcomes included 31 premature deliveries, 21 abortions. The cfDNA concentrations of pregnant women with preterm deliveries were 1.15 (0.89, 1.84), which differed significantly from those who had full-term deliveries. Conclusions: Among pregnant women with high cfDNA concentrations, systemic autoimmune diseases, pregnancy complications and LMWH were associated with increased incidence of failed NIPS test. High maternal cfDNA concentrations may not be associated with chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus. However, they should be alerted to the possibility of preterm births and stillbirths. Further clinical studies on pregnant women with high cfDNA concentrations are required.

Effect of ultrasonic treatment on the quality of Mianning ham.

This paper investigates the optimal process for ultrasonic desalination of Mianning ham. The study analyzed various factors such as ultrasonic treatment time, temperature, and power to determine their impact on the rate of desalination of hams. A single factor test was conducted to study the rate of desalination. Further, A Box-Behnken experimental design was used to evaluate the effect of Mianning ham desalination. The design examined the impacts of ultrasound on the physicochemical properties, texture, and sensory of the ham. Response surface processing group underwent oral processing to determine the optimal ultrasonic treatment conditions with the highest acceptance level. The results show that the best conditions were: ultrasonic time 84.56 min, ultrasonic temperature 40.35°C, and ultrasonic power 150.85 W. The average desalination rate of the ham under the optimal conditions was 25.93% ± 0.69%, and the hardness was 4.48 N ± 0.62 N. Overall, this process significantly improved the desalination rate, texture, and sensory quality of Mianning ham, providing solid theoretical support for desalination processing at the back end of ham.

Behavioural deficits of autism spectrum disorder and associations with different gene clusters: a study with the whole-genome transmission disequilibrium test.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a diverse neurodevelopmental disease primarily distinguished by limited and stereotyped activities as well as impaired social interaction. Due to the high heritability of ASD, research on the disorder has emphasised on identifying the underlying genetic and epigenetic aetiology. Many ASD loci have been identified by genome-wide association studies (GWASs). However, GWASs are more susceptible to bias due to population stratification. Moreover, GWASs barely reflect the genetic aetiology of subtypes of behavioural deficits. METHODS: We applied whole-genome transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) to reveal the gene sets that are significantly associated with the four behavioural subtypes of restricted repetitive behaviours in 334 ASD trios. We further mapped the clustered genes to pathways and enriched the SFARI genes in these pathways. RESULTS: Four unique gene clusters (181 genes in total) that are related to four different behavioural subtypes in ASD were identified. 23 SFARI genes were enriched in these four clusters. Through pathway analysis, nine non-SFARI genes (CNDP1, ETNK1, ITPKB, KCNQ5, PDE4D, PDGFRA, PPARGC1A, ULK2, SYNJ2) were found to be linked to the SFARI genes, which may contribute to the development of ASD. Furthermore, we found that the mTOR pathway enriched with the CNDP1, PDE4D, ULK2 genes is associated with neurodevelopment. CONCLUSIONS: Whole-genome TDT test is a unique tool in clustering genes related to ASD subtypes of behavioural deficits. Several new candidate genes for ASD are revealed by pathway analysis of the clustered genes. These findings are useful for understanding the underlying mechanism of ASD.

Outcomes of vertex-vertex vs. vertex-breech presentation in twin pregnancy after vaginal delivery in China.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the maternal and neonatal outcomes of twin pregnancies between vertex and nonvertex presentations of the second twin in vaginal delivery. METHODS: In this unicentric retrospective cohort study, we collected data from 213 cases of vaginal twin deliveries from January 2016 to July 2020. Participants were divided into the vertex-vertex presentation group (VV) and vertex-breech presentation group (VB). Data on maternal and neonatal outcomes were compared between groups. RESULTS: Among the 213 mothers and 426 infants (213 twin pairs), there were 140 women in the VV group and 73 women in the VB group (65.73% vs. 34.27%). Infants in the VB group had a higher incidence of admission to NICU (51.43% vs. 68.49%, p = 0.017), lower 1-min (11.43% vs. 28.77%, p < 0.001) and 5-minute Apgar scores (1.43% vs. 4.11%, p = 0.043) for the second twin. However, after the adjustment for sex of the twin, birth weight, chorionicity, and gestational age, the greater risk of admission to NICU and low 5-min Apgar score was no longer significantly different. CONCLUSION: VB twins are at no greater overall risk of a poor outcome due to breech presentation in the second twin. However, the presentation of the second fetus represents a risk factor for a low 1-min Apgar score. Obstetricians and midwives should consider appropriate interventions for second twins who present breech versus vertex.

Correlations between flavor and fermentation days and changes in quality-related physiochemical characteristics of fermented Aurantii Fructus.

The effects of different fermentation times (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days) on the physicochemical properties and flavor components of fermented Aurantii Fructus (FAF) were evaluated. Component analysis identified 66 compounds in positive ion mode and 32 compounds in negative ion mode. Flash GC e-nose results showed that propanal, (+)-limonene and n-nonanal may be the flavor characteristic components that distinguish FAF with different fermentation days. Furthermore, we found that the change of total flavonoid content was closely related to colony growth vitality. The total flavonoid content of FAF gradually decreased from 3rd day and then increased from 5th day (3rd day: 0.766 ± 0.123 mg/100 g; 4th day: 0.464 ± 0.001 mg/100 g; 5th day: 0.850 ± 0.192 mg/100 g). Finally, according to antioxidant activity correlation analysis, meranzin, (+)-limonene and total flavonoids were found to be the key substances affecting the fermentation days of FAF. Overall, the optimal fermentation time for FAF was 4 days.

Efficacy and safety comparison between axillary lymph node dissection with no axillary surgery in patients with sentinel node-positive breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to study the evidence on the efficacy and safety of omitting axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for patients with clinically node-negative but sentinel lymph node (SLN)-positive breast cancer using all the available evidence. METHODS: The Embase, Medline, and Cochrane Library databases were searched through February 25, 2023. Original trials that compared only the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) with ALND as the control group for patients with clinically node-negative but SLN-positive breast cancer were included. The primary outcomes were axillary recurrence rate, total recurrence rate, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Meta-analyses were performed to compare the odds ratio (OR) in rates and the hazard ratios (HR) in time-to-event outcomes between both interventions. Based on different study designs, tools in the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool were used for randomized trials and the risk of bias in nonrandomized studies of interventions to assess the risk of bias for each included article. Funnel plots and Egger's test were used for the publication's bias assessment. RESULTS: In total, 30 reports from 26 studies were included in the systematic review (9 reports of RCTs, 21 reports of retrospective cohort studies). According to our analysis, omitting ALND in patients with clinically node-negative but SLN-positive breast cancer had a similar axillary recurrence rate (OR = 0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76-1.20), DFS (HR = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.89-1.16), and OS (HR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.92-1.03), but caused a significantly lower incidence of adverse events and benefited in locoregional recurrence rate (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59-0.97) compared with ALND. CONCLUSION: For patients with clinically node-negative but SLN-positive breast cancer (no matter the number of the positive SLN), this review showed that SLNB alone had a similar axillary recurrence rate, DFS, and OS, but caused a significantly lower incidence of adverse events and showed a benefit for the locoregional recurrence compared with ALND. An OS benefit was found in the Macro subset that used SLNB alone versus complete ALND. Therefore, omitting ALND is feasible in this setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CRD 42023397963.

Scopolamine causes delirium-like brain network dysfunction and reversible cognitive impairment without neuronal loss.

Delirium is a severe acute neuropsychiatric syndrome that commonly occurs in the elderly and is considered an independent risk factor for later dementia. However, given its inherent complexity, few animal models of delirium have been established and the mechanism underlying the onset of delirium remains elusive. Here, we conducted a comparison of three mouse models of delirium induced by clinically relevant risk factors, including anesthesia with surgery (AS), systemic inflammation, and neurotransmission modulation. We found that both bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and cholinergic receptor antagonist scopolamine (Scop) induction reduced neuronal activities in the delirium-related brain network, with the latter presenting a similar pattern of reduction as found in delirium patients. Consistently, Scop injection resulted in reversible cognitive impairment with hyperactive behavior. No loss of cholinergic neurons was found with treatment, but hippocampal synaptic functions were affected. These findings provide further clues regarding the mechanism underlying delirium onset and demonstrate the successful application of the Scop injection model in mimicking delirium-like phenotypes in mice.

Effects of forage type on the rumen microbiota, growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality in fattening goats.

Forages fed to goats influence ruminal microbiota, and further contribute to affect growth performance, meat quality and its nutritional composition. Our objective for current study was to investigate the effects of different forages on growth performance, carcass traits, meat nutritional composition, rumen microflora, and the relationships between key bacteria and amino acids and fatty acids in the longissimus dorsi and semimembranosus muscles of goats. Boer crossbred goats were separately fed commercial concentrate diet supplemented with Hemarthria altissima (HA), Pennisetum sinese (PS), or forage maize (FG), and then slaughtered 90 days after the beginning of the experiment. Growth performances did not vary but carcass traits of dressing percentage, semi-eviscerated slaughter percentage, and eviscerated slaughter percentage displayed significant difference with the treatment studied. Meats from goats fed forage maize, especially semimembranosus muscles are rich in essential amino acids, as well as an increase in the amount of beneficial fatty acids. Our 16S rRNA gene sequencing results showed that the Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were the most dominant phyla in all groups but different in relative abundance. Further, the taxonomic analysis and linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) identified the specific taxa that were differentially represented among three forage treatments. The spearman's correlation analysis showed that rumen microbiota was significantly associated with the goat meat nutritional composition, and more significant positive correlations were identified in semimembranosus muscles when compared with longissimus dorsi muscles. More specifically, the lipid metabolism-related bacteria Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group showed positively correlated with meat amino acid profile, while genera Oscillospiraceae_UCG-005 were positively correlated with fatty acid composition. These bacteria genera might have the potential to improve nutritional value and meat quality. Collectively, our results showed that different forages alter the carcass traits, meat nutritional composition, and rumen microflora in fattening goats, and forage maize induced an improvement in its nutritional value.

Effect of Microecological Regulator Combined with Enteral Nutrition on Immune and Coagulation Function in Patients with Chronic Critical Illness.

This study was to investigate the effect of microecological regulators combined with enteral nutrition on immune and coagulation function in patients with a chronic critical illness. For this purpose, 78 patients with chronic critical illness in our hospital from January 2020 to January 2022 were divided into study and control groups according to a simple random number table, with 39 cases in each group. The control group was given enteral nutrition support, and the study group was given a microecological regulator. The variables of the study were the intervention effects [albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), serum total protein (TP)], immune function (CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+), coagulation function [platelet count (PLT), Fibrinogen (FIB), prothrombin time (PT) and the incidence of complications. Results showed that Before the intervention, ALB (30.69 ± 3.66) G/L, PA (132.91 ± 18.04) mg/L, TP (55.65 ± 5.42) G/L in the study group and ALB (31.78 ± 4.24) TP (57.01 ± 5.13) G/L had no significant difference (P>0.05). After the intervention, the levels of ALB, PA and TP in the two groups were higher than those before the intervention. ALB (38.91 ± 3.54) G/L, PA (204.24 ± 28.80) mg/L and TP (69.75 ± 7.48) G/L in the study group were higher than those in the control group (ALB 34.83 ± 3.82) TP (62.70 ± 6.33) g/L (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between CD4+/CD8+ (1.31 ± 0.39) (P>0.05). After the intervention, the levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD4 and CD8 in the two groups were higher than those before the intervention. CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ were higher than that of the control group. in the study group PLT (226.57 ± 41.15) × 109/L, FIB (3.58 ± 1.09) G/L, PT (9.41 ± 0.82) s were recoeded. There was no significant difference between FIB (3.71 ± 1.13) G/L and PT (9.24 ± 0.77) s (P>0.05). After the intervention, PLT and FIB decreased and PT increased in both groups. PLT (177.15 ± 12.51) × 109/L and FIB (2.57 ± 0.39) G/L in the study group were lower than PLT (198.54 ± 10.77) × 109/L and FIB (3.04 ± 0.54) PT (15.79 ± 1.21) s was higher than PT (13.13 ± 1.33) s in the control group (P<0.05). The incidence of complications in the study group (5.13%) was lower than that in the control group (20.51%) (P<0.05). The conclusion was that the intervention effect of microecological regulators combined with enteral nutrition on patients with chronic critical illness is significant, which can improve their nutritional status and immune function, improve coagulation function, and reduce the incidence of complications.

Maternal and fetal factors influencing fetal fraction: A retrospective analysis of 153,306 pregnant women undergoing noninvasive prenatal screening.

Background: Genetic factors are important causes of birth defects. Noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) is widely used for prenatal screening of trisomy 21, trisomy 18, and trisomy 13, which are the three most common fetal aneuploidies. Fetal fraction refers to the proportion of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma, which can influence the accuracy of NIPS. Elucidating the factors that influence fetal fraction can provide guidance for the interpretation of NIPS results and genetic counseling. However, there is currently no broad consensus on the known factors that influence fetal fraction. Objective: The study aimed to explore the maternal and fetal factors influencing fetal fraction. Methods: A total of 153,306 singleton pregnant women who underwent NIPS were included. Data on gestational age; maternal age; body mass index (BMI); z-scores for chromosomes 21, 18, and 13; and fetal fraction in NIPS were collected from the study population, and the relationships between fetal fraction and these factors were examined. The relationship between fetal fraction and different fetal trisomy types was also analyzed. Results: The results showed that the median gestational age, maternal age, and BMI of the pregnant women were 18 (16, 20) weeks, 29 (25, 32) years, and 22.19 (20.40, 24.24) kg/m2, respectively. The median fetal fraction was 11.62 (8.96, 14.7)%. Fetal fraction increased with gestational age and decreased with maternal age and BMI (P < 0.001). Fetal fraction of fetuses with trisomies 21, 18, and 13 was similar to that of the NIPS-negative group. The z-scores of pregnant women with trisomy 21 and 18 fetuses were positively correlated with fetal fraction, but not with that of the trisomy 13 cases. Conclusions: The factors that influence fetal fraction need to be taken into consideration before NIPS for quality control and after NIPS for result interpretation.

Cascade reaction triggering and photothermal AuNPs@MIL MOFs doped intraocular lens for enhanced posterior capsular opacification prevention.

Posterior capsular opacification (PCO) is the most common complication after cataract surgery. Present strategies can't meet the clinical needs of long-term prevention. This research reports a novel intraocular lens (IOL) bulk material with high biocompatibility and synergistic therapy. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) doped MIL-101-NH2 metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) (AuNPs@MIL) was firstly fabricated via in situ reductions. Then the functionalized MOFs were uniformly mixed with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy) ethyl acrylate (EA) to form the nanoparticle doped polymer (AuNPs@MIL-PGE), and which was used to fabricate IOL bulk materials. The materials' optical and mechanical properties with different mass contents of nanoparticles are investigated. Such bulk functionalized IOL material could efficiently remove residual human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) in the capsular bag in the short term, and can prevent PCO on demand in the long run by near-infrared illumination (NIR) action. In vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrate the biosafety of the material. The AuNPs@MIL-PGE exhibits excellent photothermal effects, which could inhibit cell proliferation under NIR and doesn't cause pathological effects on the surrounding tissues. Such functionalized IOL can not only avoid the side effects of the antiproliferative drugs but also realize the enhanced PCO prevention in clinical practice.