Relationship between jejunum ATPase activity and antioxidant function on the growth performance, feed conversion efficiency, and jejunum microbiota in Hu sheep (Ovis aries).

BACKGROUND: ATPase activity and the antioxidant function of intestinal tissue can reflect intestinal cell metabolic activity and oxidative damage, which might be related to intestinal function. However, the specific influence of intestinal ATPase activity and antioxidant function on growth performance, feed conversion efficiency, and the intestinal microbiota in sheep remains unclear. RESULTS: This study analyzed the correlation between ATPase activity and antioxidant function in the jejunum of 92 Hu sheep and their growth performance and feed conversion efficiency. Additionally, individuals with the highest (H group) and lowest (L group) jejunum MDA content and Na+ K+-ATPase activity were further screened, and the effects of jejunum ATPase activity and MDA content on the morphology and microbial community of sheep intestines were analyzed. There was a significant correlation between jejunum ATPase and SOD activity and the initial weight of Hu sheep (P < 0.01). The H-MDA group exhibited significantly higher average daily gain (ADG) from 0 to 80 days old and higher body weight (BW) after 80 days. ATPase and SOD activities, and MDA levels correlated significantly and positively with heart weight. The jejunum crypt depth and circular muscle thickness in the H-ATP group were significantly higher than in the L-ATP group, and the villus length, crypt depth, and longitudinal muscle thickness in the H-MDA group were significantly higher than in the L-MDA group (P < 0.01). High ATPase activity and MDA content significantly reduced the jejunum microbial diversity, as indicated by the Chao1 index and observed species, and affected the relative abundance of specific taxa. Among species, the relative abundance of Olsenella umbonata was significantly higher in the H-MDA group than in the L-MDA group (P < 0.05), while Methanobrevibacter ruminantium abundance was significantly lower than in the L-MDA group (P < 0.05). In vitro culture experiments confirmed that MDA promoted the proliferation of Olsenella umbonata. Thus, ATPase and SOD activities in the jejunum tissues of Hu sheep are predominantly influenced by congenital factors, and lambs with higher birth weights exhibit lower Na+ K+-ATPase, Ca2+ Mg2+-ATPase, and SOD activities. CONCLUSIONS: The ATPase activity and antioxidant performance of intestinal tissue are closely related to growth performance, heart development, and intestinal tissue morphology. High ATPase activity and MDA content reduced the microbial diversity of intestinal tissue and affect the relative abundance of specific taxa, representing a potential interaction between the host and its intestinal microbiota.

[Re-evaluation of indications for prenatal diagnosis of advanced pregnant women under the new screening regime].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for women with advanced gestational age but normal measurement for nuchal translucency (NT). METHODS: A total of 9371 singleton pregnancies with negative NT screening at early pregnancy were reviewed. Among these, 8627 cases were selected to be screened again by NIPT, and their indications and results were analyzed. The results were compared with those of with other high risk factors and young gestational age. RESULTS: The incidence of fetal aneuploidies increased in women with advanced gestational age and ultrasound soft markers, in particular among those who were negative for NT screening but over the age of 37. The detection rate of pathological or likely pathological copy number variations was 1.88% among women who directly underwent invasive prenatal diagnosis because of the advanced age, but there was no correlation with the increase of age. 0.68% of the women where with negative NT screening and NIPT still need to undergo invasive prenatal diagnosis. CONCLUSION: After NT screening in early pregnancy, NIPT can replace invasive prenatal diagnosis for those below the age of 37, though there is still a possibility of missed detection of pathogenic copy number variation. It is necessary to strengthen ultrasonic monitoring in later period.

Clinical features and outcome of eight patients with Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia diagnosed by targeted next generation sequencing.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical symptoms of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia are still poorly understood. This study was designed to summarize the clinical features and outcome of eight C. psittaci pneumonia patients diagnosed by targeted next generation sequencing (tNGS). METHODS: We included eight C. psittaci pneumonia patients admitted to our hospital from January 2021 to July 2022. The tNGS was performed to the samples collected from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of each patient. Their clinical data were analysed, including baseline features, clinical symptoms, chest radiographic findings and laboratory examinations. RESULTS: The tNGS sequence number for C. psittaci was in a range of 10 to 1722. The radiographic characteristics were mainly featured by patchy consolidation shadows, ground-glass density shadows, air bronchogram and slight pleural effusion. Within 1-3 days after hospitalization, most patients showed increased neutrophil ratio, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and decreased lymphocyte count, total protein, albumin and prealbumin. Some patients showed increased glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase levels. Three critically ill patients showed increased creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme and high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) levels. CONCLUSIONS: A poultry or bird contact history, typical flu-like symptoms, patchy consolidation, ground-glass density shadow and air bronchogram may contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of C. psittaci pneumonia. Increase in creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme and hs-TnT may indicate a severe condition. Moxifloxacin and minocycline were effective in the management of C. psittaci pneumonia.

Finite-Time Command-Filtered Composite Adaptive Neural Control of Uncertain Nonlinear Systems.

This article presents a new command-filtered composite adaptive neural control scheme for uncertain nonlinear systems. Compared with existing works, this approach focuses on achieving finite-time convergent composite adaptive control for the higher-order nonlinear system with unknown nonlinearities, parameter uncertainties, and external disturbances. First, radial basis function neural networks (NNs) are utilized to approximate the unknown functions of the considered uncertain nonlinear system. By constructing the prediction errors from the serial-parallel nonsmooth estimation models, the prediction errors and the tracking errors are fused to update the weights of the NNs. Afterward, the composite adaptive neural backstepping control scheme is proposed via nonsmooth command filter and adaptive disturbance estimation techniques. The proposed control scheme ensures that high-precision tracking performances and NN approximation performances can be achieved simultaneously. Meanwhile, it can avoid the singularity problem in the finite-time backstepping framework. Moreover, it is proved that all signals in the closed-loop control system can be convergent in finite time. Finally, simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Expressions of CD44, PCNA and MRP1 in lung cancer tissues and their effects on proliferation and invasion abilities of lung cancer cell line 95D.

PURPOSE: To investigate the expressions of CD44 non-small cell lung cancer cells, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) in the lung cancer tissues and their effects on the proliferation and invasion abilities in vitro of lung cancer cell line 95D. METHODS: 138 lung cancer tissues and 127 adjacent normal tissues were collected from lung cancer patients after operation in Shandong Provincial Third Hospital from January 2015 to December 2017. CD44 siRNA (experimental CD44 group), PCNA siRNA (experimental PCNA group) and MRP1 siRNA (experimental MRP1 group) were transfected into human lung cancer 95D cells, and a negative control group (cells transfected with miR-Native Control) and a blank group (untransfected cells) were established. MTT assay was used for detecting the proliferation of cells, and Transwell chamber was used for detecting their invasion ability. RESULTS: The relative expressions of CD44, PCNA and MRP1 in the lung cancer tissues were higher than those in the adjacent tissues (p<0.050). At 24th h, the cell survival rate in the experimental MRP1 group was lower than that in the experimental PCNA group (p<0.050); At 48th the cell survival rate in the experimental MRP1 group was higher than that in the experimental CD44 group (p<0.050). At 72th h, the cell survival rate in the experimental PCNA group was significantly higher than that in the experimental CD44 group and the experimental MRP1 group (p<0.05). The cell invasion number in the experimental CD44 group, the experimental PCNA group and the experimental MRP1 group were significantly lower than cells in the negative control group and blank group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: CD44, PCNA and MRP1, which may be involved in the regulation of the proliferation and invasion abilities of lung cancer cells, may serve as new molecular targeting markers for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

Comparison of the diagnostic value of CEA combined with OPN or DKK1 in non-small cell lung cancer.

Carcinoma embryonic antigen (CEA), osteopontin (OPN), and Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) expressed in serum are associated with hypoxia in tumor progression. However, the role of these proteins in the plasma of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poorly understood. The diagnostic values of CEA combined with OPN or DKK1 were compared in non-small cell lung cancer. This study investigated the diagnostic value of CEA combined with OPN and DKK1, respectively, in NSCLC. Eighty patients with NSCLC (NSCLC group) and 60 patients with benign lung diseases (benign lung disease group) admitted to Shandong Provincial Third Hospital from May 2014 to January 2015 were selected as the study subjects. In addition, 60 healthy subjects undergoing normal physical examination were selected as healthy control group. The OPN and DKK1 in serum of the two groups were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the CEA expression was measured by Electrochemical Photometric method. The diagnostic value of CEA combined with OPN and DKK1, respectively, in NSCLC was analyzed. The expression of CEA, OPN, and DKK1 in serum of NSCLC group was significantly higher than that of healthy control group and benign lung disease group (P<0.05). The expression of CEA, OPN and DKK1 in serum of NSCLC patients was correlated with tumor diameter, lymph node metastasis, degree of pathological differentiation and clinical stage (P<0.05). ROC curve for diagnosis of NSCLC was drawn by further combination of serum CEA and OPN. The AUC of combined diagnosis of CEA and OPN for NSCLC was 0.920 (95% CI, 0.875-0.964), and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 87.50 and 86.67%, respectively; the AUC of combined diagnosis of CEA and DKK1 for NSCLC was 0.912 (95% CI, 0.866-0.958), and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 92.50 and 76.67%, respectively. CEA, OPN and DKK1 may be involved in the occurrence and progression of NSCLC and have good sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of NSCLC and may be new biomarkers for the diagnosis of NSCLC.